February 27, 2012

Nakase says goal is to coach in the NBA: Natalie Nakase, a third-generation Japanese American and head coach of the Saitama Broncos in Japan's JB-League, is the first female head coach in the male league's history. Nakase, at 5'3", was a point guard during her playing days at UCLA. While she is enjoys the challenges of coaching in the JB-League, Nakase says her ultimate goal is to coach in the NBA.

posted by billinnagoya to basketball at 01:42 AM - 1 comment

Interesting story. I loved this quote from her time at the now-defunct Tokyo Apache:

When we would walk into our gym and only see five fans, I mean really like a hundred, we're realizing something is not working here, and we see what we did bring here, obviously a high-qualified coach and some high-qualified players (ex-NBA center Robert Swift, future second-round NBA draft pick Jeremy Tyler, among others) and we brought some American cheerleaders. . . . Everyone saw what happened.

posted by rcade at 09:12 AM on February 28, 2012

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