Happinets shrug off slow start to rout sluggish Jets

Yachiyo Chiba Pref. — You could argue that Friday night's game was the biggest contest in the brief history of the Chiba Jets, what with the Akita Northern Happinets, the Eastern Conference co-leaders, visiting town and the hosts playing their first bj-league game in nearly a month.

It started off in exhilarating fashion for Jets fans — Chiba jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game — but the Jets failed to maintain that brilliance the rest of the way in a frustrating 90-65 loss at extremely chilly Yachiyo City Gymnasium.

The long layoff clearly was a factor as Jets played well in spurts, but looked out of rhythm for large stretches of the game.

"We need to play better inside and make more shots," Jets coach Eric Gardow said after the game, acknowledging the team "was a little rusty."

Jamel Staten scored a game-high 29 points for Chiba (10-13) and Maurice Hargrow had 14, while Reina Itakura added eight points. The Jets finished with 24 turnovers, and their interior defense was ineffective.

Forward Yuki Kikuchi paced Akita with 21 points, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, E.J. Drayton had 20 and Ricky Woods scored 17 and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Though the Jets kept All-Star Kazuhiro Shoji (two points, 1-for-3 shooting) in check, Kikuchi stepped up for Akita.

"It was a great game for him," Gardow said of Kikuchi. "We can't let that happen tomorrow."

The Happinets collected 20 steals to the Jets' five as bench boss Kazuo Nakamura's club improved to 16-9.

"We were just trying to play hard," said Woods, who led the victors with five steals.

"The team must continue to play hard and focus on games," Akita coach Kazuo Nakamura said.

Nakamura cited concentration on defense and guard Michael Kearse's speed and ability to change the pace of the game as keys to victory.

The Jets opened the game on a 15-2 run, including two Staten 3-pointers. Kikuchi's 3-ball cut it to 15-5, followed by newcomer Kearse's uncontested layup. Seconds later, Stanley Ocitti grabbed an offensive board and took it strong to the rack for a putback, and suddenly it was 15-9. Kearse quickly added a layup on a crafty backdoor cut and the lead slipped to four as Gardow shouted to his players to pick up their intensity.

The quarter ended with the Jets ahead 15-11. Their nine first-quarter turnovers reduced their scoring opportunities drastically. Akita collected seven steals in the opening frame.

The Happinets' resurgence continued in the second stanza as Akita scored the first 13 points of the quater, getting eight straight points from Kikuchi to cap the game-changing spurt. In total, 22-0 spurt spanning the first and second quarters put the visitors ahead 24-15.

Hargrow's jumper ended the run, but Drayton sank two free throws to push the lead to 26-17 with 7:06 left before halftime.

The onslaught continued. It was 34-17 after three consecutive driving layups by Woods, meaning the out-of-towners had gone on a 30-2 run since the scoreboard looked this way: Chiba 15, Akita 2.

Then Kearse drained a pulled-up J, followed by Woods' off-balance shot in the lane. That made it 36-17, or 34-2 since the aforementioned Chiba run.

The Jets trailed 40-24 at the break. Woods, who had a 52-point game for the Oita HeatDevils during the 2009-10 season, had put 12 points on the board by the break, with four steals and three assists for good measure.

Chiba had 16 turnovers and shot 9-for-30 in the opening half.

"The strong start was nice to see," Gardow said later. "I really thought we had them. . . . That was the worst run I've ever been a part of in basketball."

Fueled by increased aggressive play on defense — challenging the shooters, especially, and getting a few timely blocked shots — the Jets pushed the tempo at the other end of the floor to get back into the game. A 15-6 run capped by Staten's three-point play slashed the Akita advantage to 46-39.

But Akita regained its ferocity and fierce focus and entered the fourth quarter ahead 62-47. Staten and Hargrow, meanwhile, had combined for 31 of the Jets' points through three quarters, 19 for Staten.

Drayton's layup-and-one made it 73-56 with 5:57 remaining effectively sealed the win for the Northern Happinets.

Notes: The Jets hadn't played a bj-league game since a Christmas Eve loss to the host Niigata Albirex BB. They became the first bj-league team to participate in the Emperor's Cup (All-Japan Basketball Championship) and had games on Jan. 2 and 4, the second of which was a 97-59 loss to JBL squad Levanga Hokkaido at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2.

The Happinets arrrived in Chiba Prefecture a day after the team announced guard/forward Curtis Terry, half-brother of NBA standout Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks) had been released after his arrest for the theft of three cans of alcohol on Jan. 15 in Akita.

Nakamura said despite Terry's incident the team kept the focus on the game and on the players that were suited up for the series.

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Happinets cut Terry following arrest

After being arrested for theft of alcoholic beverages at an Akita convenience store last weekend, veteran swingman Curtis Terry has been released by the Akita Northern Happinets, the bj-league team announced on Thursday.

Team president Yuki Mizuno has scheduled a news conference for Monday.

"I apologize to you the people of the prefecture, partner companies, team boosters, basketball and all the people concerned about the case," Mizuno said in a statement issued by the team.

Mizuno said Terry's departure from the team is regrettable, but added that the Happinets have a duty to be responsible role models.

"This is a scandal which loses the trust of a player who has received support from many people in the prefecture," Mizuno said. "A player should give a dream and a (positive) impression, and I have responded to this situation solemnly."

He said he'll issue further details about Terry's case during the news conference.

Terry, 26, averaged 11.3 points in 14 games (nine games) since joining the Happinets in November. His half-brother, Jason Terry, a longtime member of the Dallas Mavericks, has been a fixture in the NBA since helping the Arizona Wildcats win an NCAA championship in 1997.

The 193-cm Terry attended UNLV. He scored a season-high 36 points on Jan. 7 and had 18 a day later as Akita swept the visiting Toyama Grouses and claimed a share of first place in the East entering All-Star weekend.

According to a news release issued by the team, convenience store staff noticed Terry, who had entered the store with a foreign teammate not named in the release, had three cans of chuhai in his pocket as he left the store. The clerk ordered him to return to the store. Terry placed one can on the counter and left some coins on it before dashing out of the store.

That prompted the clerk to call the police, the news release said.

A few hours later, Akita police found Terry at a nearby restaurant, where he was placed under arrest.

The Happinets (15-9) begin the second half of the 2011-12 bj-league season tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. The team traveled to face the Chiba Jets in the series opener on Friday.

In other league news, a well-connected source told The Japan Times on Friday that the expansion Aomori Prefecture franchise probably won't join the league for the 2012-13 season as originally planned. The new franchise's likely decision to delay entry into the league, possibly until 2013-14, would leave the circuit with 21 teams, including a new Tokyo club and the expansion Gunma CraneThunders.

If the cash-strapped Oita HeatDevils and Takamatsu Five Arrows don't fold or suspend operations, the league could still have the difficult task of writing a schedule for an odd number of teams next season.

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Happinets back on top after sweeping Grouses

The Akita Northern Happinets climbed back into first place by completing a weekend sweep of the Toyama Grouses on Sunday.

Coach Kazuo Nakamura's club defeated Toyama 73-58 in the teams' final game of the 2011-12 bj-league season's first half. The sixth annual All-Star Game will be held next Sunday at Saitama Super Arena.

E.J. Drayton and Curtis Terry scored 18 points apiece to lead Akita (15-9, tied for first with the Niigata Albirex BB), Ricky Woods had 15 points with 12 rebounds and Kazuhiro Shoji added 13 points and buried 4 of 7 long-range shots. Ryosuke Mizumachi dished out six assists, and the Happinets improved to 8-6 at home.

Drayton contributed four blocked shots and two steals in Akita's solid all-around win.

Toyama (10-12) had a bad shooting afternoon, making 23 of 70 shots from the field, including 4-for-19 on 3-point attempts. The Grouses also missed 10 of 18 foul shots, and made 17 turnovers.

Devin Searcy and Brian Harper each scored 12 points for Toyama and Masashi Joho had 10.

Hannaryz 87, 89ers 74

In Sendai, after seeing its 12-game winning streak halted on Saturday, Kyoto bounced back with a victory in the series finale.

Hannaryz coach Honoo Hamaguchi's club won the battle on the boards (52-28 overall rebounding edge) and cleaned the glass for 23 offensive boards to Sendai's 10.

"The key to this one was offensive rebounds," Sendai coach Bob Pierce said.

For Kyoto (16-6), Rick Rickert was the leading scorer (18 points). Lance Allred had 14 points and 13 boards, Naoto Nakamura scored 11 points, Jermaine Boyette had 10, Babacar Camara had nine, Sunao Murakami added eight and Kyosuke Setoyama seven.

The 89ers (12-12) were called for 27 fouls to the Hannaryz's 13. Rickert and newcomer Filip Toncinic both fouled out.

"Foul trouble plagued us the entire game," Pierce said.

Dan Fitzgerald scored a team-high 23 points for Sendai, Johnny Dukes had 17 points and five assists, Toncinic added 16 points and 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range and Takehiko Shimura orchestrated the offense (nine assists and zero turnovers).

"We had an amazing stretch where we played great defense," Pierce said, "came back from nine points down in the fourth quarter, then took brief leads of 68-66 (and) 70-68. But it seemed that on about the next three possessions Kyoto would miss but then score on the offensive rebound. We missed some open looks, and the game got away."

Evessa 75, Five Arrows 62

In Takamatsu, fan favorite Cohey Aoki put on a shooting clinic in Osaka's win over the lowly Five Arrows.

Aoki made 8 of 9 shots from the field — his lone miss was one of his four 3-point attempts — and both of his shots from the charity stripe in a 21-point performance for the Evessa (17-5). Lynn Washington provided 18 points, 10 boards and four assists and Lavell Payne scored eight points for Osaka. Lawrence Blackledge and Masashi Obuchi each had seven.

Kevin Smith paced Takamatsu (1-23) with 17 points and seven steals, while Michael Nunnally had 14 points.

"We played a pretty good game overall," Osaka coach Ryan Blackwell said. "Cohey and Lynn paced us offensively. Our zone defense was really good today, and had we not turned the ball over 21 times, we would've scored more points, which is one area we need to improve on."

Albirex BB 94, Shining Suns 80

In Miyazaki, Erron Maxey scored 23 points, Nile Murry had 20 and Niigata recorded a series split.

Niigata (15-9) made 13 steals, while matching Akita for the most wins in the East entering the break. Murry had a team-high four steals. Chris Holm added 18 points and 13 boards, Yuichi Ikeda scored 14 and Shuhei Komatsu 10.

Holm, the league's top rebounder at 14.5 per game, had five offensive boards, getting five or more for the 13th time this season. He also notched his 14th double-double.

Dexter Lyons led Miyazaki (12-14) with 22 points and Lewis Witcher poured in 13.

Brave Warriors 85, Big Bulls 67

In Nagano, Lee Roberts had 22 points and Edward Morris scored 14 as Shinshu swept rival first-season club Iwate.

Derek Raivio and Takato Saito added 12 points apiece for the Brave Warriors (11-13). Shinshu shot 28-for-50 from inside the arc and 7-for-15 on 3-point attempts.

The Big Bulls (7-19) were 24-for-70 from the field and a dismal 15-for-29 at the line. Thomas Kennedy led Iwate with 31 points, Gordon Klaiber had 11 and Yoshiaki Yamamoto handed out six assists.

Lakestars 79, Susanoo Magic 64

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Dionisio Gomez's 22-point, 10-rebound effort led Shiga to a bounce-back triumph in the series finale.

Ray Nixon scored 17 points for the Lakestars (16-8), Josh Peppers had 16, Yu Okada added 13 with six assists and four steals and Shinya Ogawa scored seven points.

Reggie Golson paced Shimane (13-11) with 18 points, Michael Parker scored 17 and B.J. Puckett had 14. Magic point guard Edward Yamamoto had a tough afternoon (five turnovers, one assist).

***

B-Corsairs update: A day after his team beat the visiting Saitama Broncos for the second time in as many days, Yokohama B-Corsairs coach Reggie Geary told The Japan Times, "We're very happy about this weekend's sweep of Saitama. We feel as a team we're improving and that has been reflected in us winning four of our last six.

"Our inside play of Justin Burrell and Chas McFarland has been at a good level, and contributions from Kaba (Masayuki Kabaya), Kim (Minoru Kimura) and Kenji (Yamada), along with our entire bench have been much needed."

Looking ahead to the week off, Geary added, "This All-Star break comes at a good time for us to heal up and get in some good practice before facing a tough road challenge in Niigata when we return to action."

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Happinets show Pierce the door after first season with expansion team

The Akita Northern Happinets fired coach Bob Pierce on Monday night, clearing the path for a possible titanic shift in the bj-league's coaching landscape.

One and done: Akita Northern Happinets coach Bob Pierce is the first bj-league bench boss to be dismissed since the end of the regular season. YOSHIAKI MIURA

"I just heard from a Japanese coach that there's a rumor going around that (Kazuo) Nakamura will leave Hamamatsu and return to Akita," Pierce told The Japan Times.

Nakamura, a 70-year-old Akita native, has led the defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix (40-6 in the regular season) to three consecutive Eastern Conference regular-season titles and a trip to the Final Four this weekend. In a decades-long career that included time in the JBL, the highly decorated bench boss also coached at Akita Keizai University (now called North Asia University) from 1995-97.

The Happinets went 18-32 in their inaugural season under Pierce. The team also played in the revamped East playoffs, dropping a pair of games to the Niigata Albirex BB on May 7-8.

Now, Pierce, 50, is looking for work.

"That's after being reassured mid-season that I was doing a good job and they wanted me back for a second season, which would then be judged more harshly by wins and losses," he said.

"So what happened? Apparently they started off last year with (Yuki) Mizuno as the team president, and as the season went on I met one or two other guys who were directors, who obviously had a say in things, but it was never really clear what their role was as Mizuno as the president and (Makoto) Hasegawa as the playing manger were always the front men."

From Pierce's perspective, the Happinets executives changed their outlook as the season progressed, scrapping the team's initial modest goals as its inner circle widened.

"Well it turns out that they went from three directors to about six by the end of the season, giving out this title and accompanying power to the heads of some of the companies that gave money as sponsors," Pierce said. "So at the end of the season there were six voices expressing opinions about what to do for next season. And suddenly wins and losses became important. I didn't win enough, so I'm out.

"Never mind that I was told that all that was important is that we get lots of fans out to the games. The result being that we were No. 2 in attendance behind Ryukyu, and along with Shimane received the Best Booster Award."

Hometown favorite Hasegawa, who turned 40 in April, is the face of the franchise. That didn't make Pierce's job easy nor did it permit the coach's normal role—to insert players into the lineup as he chooses — to take place.

Of the 33 games that the injury-prone Hasegawa played in, Pierce noted that he never subbed the guard in or out of the lineup.

"He put himself in and out of the games that he played because fans in Akita came to see him. So he played as much as he wanted," was the way Pierce described the situation.

Hasegawa's role clearly became a point of contention for the team, though he deserves credit for helping lure new sponsors to the team and increasing the team's fan base.

"Hasegawa is a great guy, and worked tirelessly for this team every day of the year," Pierce said. "But he couldn't guard anyone on the court, couldn't practice full time, spending most of his time rehabbing on the sidelines. Some of the American players would complain that it was like playing four against five when he came in, or that they would work hard to build a lead, only to see it disappear when Hasegawa took the court. But they also understood it was one of the things we had to do to build the fan base in Akita, because 'winning wasn't important,' or so they said."

Other missteps contributed to Akita's losing season.

"We had a translator who couldn't translate," said Pierce, who conducts interviews in Japanese on a regular basis. "Maybe the worst I've ever been around. ... I often spent more time un-translating his mistakes than actually giving out new information."

In retrospect, Pierce didn't believe the team's roster makeup, primarily selected by others on staff, was adequate.

"Our Japanese players may have been the worst in the league, with our best scorer, (Kazuhiro) Shoji, ranked only 31st among all Japanese players at 6.0 (points per game)," Pierce said of the 37-year-old forward, adding that the team didn't have any Japanese standouts in their prime, the group he identified as between ages 25-28.

In three seasons in the bj-league, Pierce has a 66-88 record and two playoff appearances, guiding the Shiga Lakestars to a 10-win improvement in 2009-10 (29-23 record) over their first season.

Pierce's leadership and ability to identify talent helped Akita secure a few key wins after the All-Star break. Though the former NBA scout voiced frustration that he had zero input in the team's draft selections and Japanese player signings last summer.

He cited the example of Korean big man Jung Se Young's impact as a key move.

"I finally was able to put him in the starting lineup on Feb. 27," Pierce said. "From Feb. 27 to March 27, with Se Young in the starting lineup we beat Osaka, Tokyo, and Hamamatsu — three really good teams and all three games on the road. And then they let him go, rather than pay extra money in salary for April and May.

"He was a starter. He helped us beat three of the best teams in the league. He would have been a key player for us in the playoffs against Niigata if he had been here. But I get fired for not winning."

Team stability, though, was something Pierce worked tirelessly for in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake.

"We were the only team in the East that kept all of our American players, and one of only four or five teams in the whole league that didn't have an American player leave after the earthquake," he said. "That didn't happen by accident."

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind to the media, Pierce knows being a pro coach is not an occupation for weak-minded individuals.

"Anyway, it's the life of a coach," he said of being fired. "But sad to see Akita now being run by a committee, which is exactly how most of the company teams are run in the JBL, with different OB (old boy) factions fighting over who runs the team. That system has worked out well for the JBL, hasn't it?"

Pierce is one of several bj-league coaches—David Benoit (Saitama, Kyoto), Dai Oketani (Oita, Ryukyu), John Neumann (Fukuoka, Takamatsu), Tadaharu Ogawa (Oita, Fukuoka), Hirokazu Nema (Toyama, Shiga), Charles Johnson (Saitama, Toyama) and Takatoshi Ishibashi (Toyama, Shiga) and Masato Fukushima (Toyama, Saitama) are the others—to guide two teams in the young league. No coach has been handed the reins—as an interim or full-fledged head coach—of a third team yet.

Internal conflict: Already, the Happinets are at the crossroads: organizational stability or a possible reshuffling of its top leadership.

Or as Pierce pointed out: "After our meeting late last night, (Seiichi) Oba, who is the 'GM' told me that he wanted to resign, because 'no one listens to my opinion anyway,' and he knows he's just a figure head, with no real power or authority. Hasegawa asked him not to, because he needs someone else to take the burden off him in all the meet-and-greet situations that are part of running this team.

"But it's the board of directors behind the scenes now that are making this decision. And Oba said he wouldn't be surprised if they force Yuki Mizuno out in a year or two as well."

Coaching carousel: The Kyoto Hannaryz, meanwhile, are also set to part ways with coach Kazuto Aono, who recently completed his first full season at the helm, a league source said. The Hannaryz went 28-20 this season, an 11-win improvement over their inaugural campaign in 2009-10.

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