Golden Kings unveiling 2012-13 new style

The hardwood season’s only days away from preliminary action, and the Ryukyu Golden Kings are gearing up for what they hope will be a powerhouse season.

The Okinawa squad was the Basketball Japan League Champion in 2009 and in 2012, taking 3rd place in 2010 and runner-up title in 2011. Now the league’s southernmost squad knows everyone’s going to be gunning for them, trying to defeat them in the year ahead.

New league rules complicate ?or at least change styles―this season. A big rule change requires fewer than two foreign players on the court in the 1st and 3rd quarters, while allowing three in the 2nd and 4th quarters. This rule change makes Japanese players more responsible for the game play.

The Golden Kings open up the pre-season against the Akita Northern Happinets, a team not on the calendar this year. Unless, of course, the Happinets go up against the Golden Kings in a championship finals series next spring at the Tokyo Ariake Coliseum.

Naoto Kosuge, Tsubasa Yonamine, Morihisa Yamauchi and Yosuke Sugawara are back with the Golden Kings, training with the new head coach, Kohto Tohyama. Tohyama is pushing a new, aggressive style for the Kings. Anthony McHenry, Dzaflo Larkai, longtime start Jeff Newton and newcomer Terrance Woodbury are working their way through the Kings playbook.

00:37 30 Mar , 2024