A coach life spoken by Gresman, led by Ibaraki Robots."I couldn't find a job other than the coach."

After the end of the 2016-17 season, the dismissal of the head coach Jim Ferry has led Richard Gresman to lose his job as a Dukane-sized assistant coach belonging to NCAA Division 1 Atlantic 10.It is universal in the world that other teams have to find new jobs, as they are said to be hired to be dismissed.Gesman also wanted to coaches abroad, looking for opportunities at other universities.

The basketball world around the world seems to be large and narrow.Golesman was no exception.With a slight timing and a connection, I decided to get a job as a head coach of Ehime Orange Bikings in B2 from the 2017-18 season.

The head coach has been the head coach since the 2002-03 season's Wi -Rock College's team, but has led Ehime, which had been losing for 10 consecutive seasons, twice over three years, to a win rate of 50 % or more.And she became a head coach in Ibaraki Robots last season, and she was promoted to B1 in one year in response to management expectations.

Ibaraki is struggling in B1, but Gesman coach has realized the level of the team.I was interested in the career of such a commander's career, and on January 15, which was preparing for a double match with Hiroshima Dragon Frize, I had the opportunity to talk about 30 minutes in one -to -one.

—— coaching in the B league is the fifth year.While being influenced by the new Coronavirus, how about living in Japan?

Richard Gresman coach (RG): We really like Japan.There are twins who are 5 years old and 6 years old at the age of five, but I think Japan is a really good place for young children.Of course, the new Colonavirus has changed it, but to be honest, it's not just Japan.Even if you are in the United States or coach in Europe or Australia, there are also restrictions by the new colonavirus, and you have to deal with it wherever you live.That's why I'm in Japan, not to deal with the new Coronavirus, but I think everyone all over the world had to adjust.

—— What is the biggest challenge for Ibaraki this season to fight the B1 team?

RG: Of course, I think the players on the team last year have some rewards.The last match with Gunma is May 23.So the end of the season was late, and the reinforcement for the new team did not progress slowly.I knew that this year would be a completely different development, and this was expected.To be honest, I think it starts with the lack of size.Now, we are the lowest in the league in the defensive rebound, and even if we do various defense, we haven't rebounded.There are many other things, but I think it's definitely a shortage of size.Especially rebound is the most difficult problem that requires stats improvement.

——What do you like most about the current Ibaraki team?

RG: Honestly, I know there are many good players. It was really helpful that such players gathered in the harsh situation of a new B1 team, who had not experienced B1. Because even the newly acquired players have played an important role in the B1 in B1 (Tajima), only in the morning. Another issue is that there are few players with B1 experience. But the point is that there are really good players. So, when you are in a difficult situation, everyone wants to work together. Fortunately, our players are all good people who challenge this challenge, and to be honest, it will improve us. The team has been much better since the season's opening, and if you want to win more this year, you have to keep getting better.

——I think you've been promoted to B1 last season as a highlight of your coach life.What season was it again?

RG: It was great. Of course, I would like to win the final race and win, but at the same time, I know that Japan is a more important point in Japan. Robots focused on B1 promotion last year. That's what I felt, and honestly, I thought we could do it. I knew that being a head coach and being able to compete for the championship and being promoted to B1 was really big for Ibaraki Prefecture. There is an inner pressure to make it happen because you don't know what will happen. If you did not fulfill the B1 promotion last year and return as the same team this year, if Atsu (Mitsuyoshi Hirao) or a foreign player gets injured, you can't substitute that player, right? So I told the answer to the question to a long way. It was a really special year, but there was a lot of stress, things went smoothly toward the sunset, and not everything was perfect. It was the most special year among my coaching carriers, but it wasn't a smooth sail, and at the beginning of the season, I faced a lot of challenges, but I got better with each year for the promotion of B1. I always felt the pressure.

——I ask about your career.Why did you decide to be a basketball coach?

RG: That's a good question. Because I couldn't find a job other than the coach. He played at the Emerson College of NCAA Division 3 in Boston, had a really good career, and had a good relationship with head coaches. It was a very good team for everyone, and the university where I was had a really wonderful culture. However, when I graduated from college, there was no solid thing like "I want to do this!" I got a degree of communication media art, but I still wanted to be a basketball coach. When I just graduated from college, I did a little delivery work, but with the help of a college coach, I decided to work part -time as an assistant coach of a university belonging to NCAA Division 2. From there, he went to Long Island from Division 2 of Division 2, where he worked as a Division 1 assistant coach for six years, and then went to Dukane with the boss (Jim Ferry) at Long Island. So, for 11 years before coming to Japan, I spent the same boss and the same head coach. So everything was very fast.

——In the active era you played as a guard and served as a captain at Emerson College.What kind of player was it?

RG: When I talked to Hank Smith Coach in college this summer, I was joking that I was an analyzed authority.That's not because I was smarter at the time, but because I wanted to make a layup only when open 3 was decided.I didn't have a mid -range game, but I got a pass, and I was an aggressive player called Attacking Guard to take a rebound.As a shooter, I was able to hit the shot if I had time, but I couldn't hit the shot when I had time.So the number of (jump) shots was small.

—— I was an assistant coach and recruiter with a team of NCAA Division 1 called Long Island Brooklyn and Dukane.Finding and reinforcing good players is the key to the success of the team in B1.What do you value in recruitment of players?

RG: To be honest, I haven't been able to recruit much players in the past year. We must gather players suitable for the system we need to do. It is necessary for management, coaching staff, and all the players with the same idea to fit a specific basketball system. At the university level in the United States, you can gather players as you want, but in Robots, you must consider the best system. I've always played uptempo basketball, so I want to play fast. But to be honest, in the current situation like Robots, you may need to play the flexibility to play in a different style. Another answer to the question, Ibaraki cannot be said to be a team with plenty of budget in B1 recruitment activities, so it is necessary to identify players that match our identity.

—— Dukane, who was an assistant coach, continued the difficult season.He signed a contract with Ehime Orange Bikings in 2017. Why did you decide to try a head coach in Japan?

RG: I thought I had a job at another university, but I also talked to people who have coached overseas. They have never come to Japan, but when I talk to Chris Holm, a player (now Kyoto Hannaries Assistant Coach) who played in Japan, many people, with him, are very positive about Japan. I was saying something. It was also known that the B -League was launched to make Japanese basketball better. So I knew Japan was a good place. I always thought somewhere in my life, "I want to coach with an overseas team." The child was still small, so I thought that year was a chance for me. To be honest, I thought that work would be a year, but both my wife and my wife liked Japan. Orange bikings worked quite well in the first two years, so I was able to return again. Japan is the fifth year this year.

——What did you have to adjust first in coaching in Japan?

RG: I think coaching in Japan is a great experience for any coach.However, it is possible to build a relationship with the players, deepen the bonds with the players in various ways, and show that they care about the players as coaches, but they do not always communicate.So, when I was in Ehime, I was the biggest adjustment for me to find the best communication method with a Japanese player who could speak a little English.By doing so, I was able to build human relationships.I think that was the biggest adjustment.

—— Is there anything that was impressive in the culture shock since you came to Japan?

RG: American basketball is different from Japan. The difference is big. Let's give an analogy. In Ehime, I practiced in various places, such as practicing at a very cold gymnasium. I'm from the United States, so I'm always used to going to the same gymnasium. But most of the B -League teams are used to practicing in different places, right? Because the home arena is a public facility, so you can't practice (every day). "Monday is in this gymnasium, Tuesday and Wednesday here, and on Thursdays again at this gymnasium." There are various gymnasiums in various cities, but there was no base base. If you shorten the long story, you don't have your own office, your own office. To be honest, my office was Starbucks. The more you are in Japan, the more you realize that this is not the only problem in Japan. At least I have heard that most teams in Japan were in the same situation.

—— Did you have knowledge about Japanese basketball before you came to Japan for the first time?

RG: Yuta Watanabe was in the same league (Atlantic 10 conference), so I knew a little, and I had been coaching a team to play his team for years.When I remember what happened to Watanabe and Hachimura base, I think that when I was in college, I went to Gonzaga to go to Gonzaga.Do you remember how long the first year of Hachimura was?

—— I feel like it was the last year (2016-17 season) in Dukane.

RG: I was in Dukane, but there was a rumor that Gonzaga has won excellent players from Japan in the college basketball area. Basically, I didn't have any special knowledge, but I knew that there were two really good players in Japan and that Japanese basketball was getting better. However, before I came to Japan, I didn't know anything. Before I played the first game, I saw a lot of orange vikes, but I immediately realized that it was different. That was the fact that Japanese players had the ability to play fast and do Dinai's defense very much. There are teams in the United States that dinai, but you can usually move the ball by wing. I think B1 is particularly known, but there are many pressure -style defense, and some teams try to do so in B2. That was a big difference as a basketball style.

—— Watanabe, who became an NBA player, what kind of impression did you have about him at that time?

RG: To be honest, I didn't tag him as an NBA player, but I really respected it.George Washington was a very talented team, and my impression of Dukane's staff was more impactful than the actual stats as a versatile type in Atlantic 10.So if you just look at his stats, you may not be surprised.However, looking at everything Watanabe did in the game, it was impossible to have no high respect for him.

—— Return the story to B1, what is the key to Ibaraki to increase the number of stars in the second half of the season?

RG: First of all, it's important to be healthy.These 8 or 9 games were not Hirao.Before Eric Jacobson escaped, he lacked Marc Trasolini.Last year I was very lucky because there were few injuries.I feel that this year has entered a more severe time, but it probably happens in any team in B1.So maintaining health is really important for teams whose players are not thick.And rebound.If you can't make a difference of more than 10 rebounds in one game, I think you can beat the high -level teams in the East area.

—— What kind of impression do you have about the current status and future of the B league?

RG：Bリーグの1年目はいませんでしたが、その後はB2にいました。B1の印象は年々良くなっていますし、外国籍選手も日本の若手選手もどんどん良くなっています。だから、将来に向けて本当にいい状態にあると思いますし、日本の若手選手にも期待しています。外国籍選手にとって、今のBリーグは本当に魅力的なマーケット。だから、私がここに来てから、今が一番いい状態だと思いますし、明るい未来があることを楽しみにしています。

—— What is the inscription for you?

RG: My motto is "faster and aggressive".So, if you do something, do it with your best.

Finally, one trivia about Gesman Coach.

Watanabe was a second -year student at George Washington, the last season of Dukane's assistant coach.On January 9, 2016, which was facing a difficult period of both physically and mentally, Watanabe experienced a scoreless game that was only once in college in four years.In addition to winning the team in 91 to 64 (box scores), the fact that foulullable had little time to participate in the second half.

そんな昔話を振ってみると、対戦相手のアシスタントコーチとしてスカウティングしていたグレスマンは、「私の手柄にしたいのは山々なんだろうけど、たぶん渡邊が手加減してくれたんだと思えますね」と謙遜する。渡邊がNBAに適応できている理由としては、とても無欲なことと、コート上でいろいろなことができる点をあげていた。