Misplaced Pages

#310689

40-538: The team was founded in 2005 as the Oita HeatDevils , one of the founding members of the bj league . The team was based in Ōita city , Ōita Prefecture until 2015, at which time the club relocated to Matsuyama for the 2015-16 season of the bj league and changed its name to the Oita Ehime HeatDevils . The team was founded as the Oita HeatDevils in 2005 and were one of six founding members of

80-528: A 9–17 record at the All-Star break. In the second half of the season TGO secured the services of new foreign players and the team managed a 12–14 record to finish in 8th place. In May 2013 ownership of the team was transferred to the Basukede ( バスケで ) corporation. Under new corporate ownership for 2013–14, the team was unable to secure a main sponsor prior to the start of the season. The team planned to host

120-449: A second championship by defeating 94–78 in the final. The season also saw the league hold its first all-star match and announce that a further two expansion teams, Rizing Fukuoka and Ryukyu Golden Kings , would join the following season. Eastern Conference Western Conference Former teams Defunct teams The bj league had rapidly expanded since its inauguration as a six-team league in 2005. The league expanded to 22 teams for

160-550: A two-game series against the expansion team Bambitious Nara on 25 and 26 October at Ōita Bank Dome , a 40,000-capacity stadium with a retractable roof. This match was to be the first game in Japanese basketball history played in an outdoor stadium. However, the approach of Typhoon Francisco gave the Nara coach concern about the safety of the playing conditions. The two coaches and stadium officials ultimately decided to go ahead with

200-838: The Basketball Japan League ) was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association , the official governing body of basketball in Japan. Over the next ten years the league saw continual expansion, with at least one new team joining every season, reaching 24 teams divided into two conferences in its final season in 2015–16. Turkish Airlines

240-598: The Shimane Susanoo Magic and Miyazaki Shining Suns , the HeatDevils were in contention for a playoff spot at the time of the earthquake, their 16–22 record placing them just one game behind sixth-placed Shimane. However, three of the team's four American players ( Taj Finger , Rolando Howell and Cyrus Tate ) broke their contracts and left the country in the week after the earthquake and the team subsequently fired coach L. J. Hepp for failing to convince

280-621: The bj league , a professional league set up in competition to the Japan Basketball League operated by the Japan Basketball Association . Their first league game was on 5 October 2005, which they won 100–95 against Osaka Evessa . After losing to Osaka in their second match the following day, Oita hosted their first home game a week later against the Sendai 89ers at the Beppu Beacon Plaza . They lost both matches in

320-485: The 2014–15 season with the addition of the Fukushima Firebonds . For its final season the number increased to 24 with the addition of Kanazawa Samuraiz and Hiroshima Lightning . 35°28′20″N 133°03′55″E  /  35.47222°N 133.06528°E  / 35.47222; 133.06528 Tony Hanson Tony Hanson (October 20, 1955 – November 25, 2018) was an American basketball player. He

360-713: The All-Yankee Conference First Team pick, both in 1975 and 1976. It was his senior year that gained him recognition, his double-double average of 26.0 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per contest leading him to be named New England Player of the Year and ECAC Player of the Year. His time playing for the Huskies has led him to third in career scoring among all Connecticut basketball players (1,990 points in total), and first in field goals with 784. His average of 26.0 points per game places him second. Hanson

400-468: The HeatDevils will compete in the second division of the B.League , the new league to be created from the bj league and NBL merger. During the 2015–16 season, the team played ten of their 26 home games in Ehime Prefecture, spreading their home games across 8 different stadiums throughout Oita and Ehime Prefectures. The team hired Tomoyuki Umeda to replace Suzuki as head coach but fired him in

440-537: The Japan Basketball Association, and the establishment of an intermediary corporation later the same month that was tasked with forming a new league. In November 2004 the formation of the bj league was officially announced, with four newly-formed clubs ( Oita Heat Devils , Osaka Deinonychus , Sendai 89ers and Tokyo Apache ) to join the Niigata and Saitama teams. In May 2005 the owners of

SECTION 10

#1732790810311

480-648: The Osaka franchise faced financial difficulty and transferred their licence to the club's intended main sponsor, who instead formed Osaka Evessa . In October 2005, three weeks prior to the start of the league's first season, the league announced its first expansion, with the Takamatsu Five Arrows and Toyama Grouses to join the 2006–07 season. The 2005–06 season was a 40-match season, with each club playing 8 matches against each other. The inaugural game occurred on November 5, 2005 at Ariake Coliseum between

520-588: The Tokyo Apache and Niigata Albirex. The Apache, led by Joe Bryant won in overtime by a score of 93-90 with Darin Maki scoring the first every basket in the opening seconds. Osaka and Niigata dominated the first season of the league with 31 and 29 wins respectively; Osaka became inaugural league champions by defeating Niigata 74–64 in the championship match. The inclusion of the Takamatsu and Toyama teams saw

560-593: The UK. His charitable work led to him being awarded an MBE in 2007. Then culture secretary Tessa Jowell , who presented with Hanson the award, said of him, "Thanks to Mr Hanson's tireless efforts, thousands of young people in Tees Valley have benefited from the opportunities created by the Hoop Dreams Social Enterprise." He was chairman of Tees Valley Mohawks Basketball Club, who compete in

600-534: The Western Conference standings. However during this time Tomohiro Hashimoto, the president of Oita Heat, the company that owned the team, reported to the league that negotiations with a planned season sponsor had not gone well. On 22 November Hashimoto requested a 25 million yen bailout from the league's assistance fund and the league, anticipating the company's demise, established an incorporated association named Temporary Game Operation (TGO). A week later

640-722: The administration of the sport resulted in FIBA suspending the JBA from November 2014 until August 2015. As a condition of lifting the suspension, the bj league merged with the NBL and the National Basketball Development League to form the B.League . The formation of the league commenced in August 2004 with an announcement by Niigata Albirex BB and Saitama Broncos that they were withdrawing their membership of

680-554: The club to KBC Total Services, a subsidiary of Kawahara Gakuen ( 河原学園 ) , an educational corporation based in Matsuyama, Ehime . KBC indicated their intention to base the team in both Oita and Ehime prefectures in the following season, but be based in Matsuyama from October 2016. Oita lost three of their final four regular season games following the announcements, but remained in 7th place despite recording an 18–34 record. They met

720-486: The club's head coach. Oita started the 2011–2012 season poorly, winning just five of their 24 games before the All-Star break. But they finished the season strongly, winning 14 of their last 17 games, including a 7-game streak in March and the final 5 games of the season, finishing 7th in the 10-team conference with a 23–29 record. Oita started the 2012–13 season strongly, winning eight of their first ten games to sit second in

760-406: The following day was also cancelled, with the HeatDevils hosting a fan appreciation event instead. Despite the various setbacks, Oita started the season strongly and were tied for second place in the Western Conference after 16 games. As the season wore on, the team started to suffer several losing streaks, and slid down the standings to finish in eighth position with a 20–32 record, four games outside

800-462: The league announced on 21 April that the matches would be cancelled on account of the safety of patrons. The HeatDevils finished their final season in the bj league in 10th place in the Western Conference, three games outside of the top eight. To coincide with the commencement of the B.League in September 2016, the HeatDevils relocated its head office to Matsuyama and announced they would compete in

840-449: The league determined that Hashimoto's request was without the agreement of the company's shareholders and refused the request. On 3 December Oita Heat requested withdrawal from the league and control of the team was transferred to TGO. On the court the team's financial difficulties became obvious, with their foreign players departing due to unpaid salaries and the team managing to win just one of their next 16 games, falling to 8th place with

SECTION 20

#1732790810311

880-415: The league separate into 4-team Eastern and Western conferences in the 2006–07 season. Each team again played 40 matches; eight against each of the teams in their conference and four against each of the teams in the opposing conference. However, teams were ranked in a single standings table, meaning three Western Conference teams (Osaka, Takamatsu and Tokyo) and Niigata competed in the semi-finals. Osaka claimed

920-445: The majority of their home matches at Beppu Arena . In the 2006–07 season, when the bj league expanded to eight teams, Oita compiled a 22–18 win–loss record, their only winning season to date, and finished in fourth place, thereby qualifying for their first finals appearance. They lost their semi-final against the top-placed and eventual champions Osaka Evessa 69–63, before recovering the next day to defeat Niigata Albirex BB 92–70 in

960-460: The match and started one hour later than the scheduled time. Meanwhile, league commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi decided that the game should be cancelled on account of the weather. Remarkably, due to poor communication channels this decision was not relayed to the teams until after the match was finished. The HeatDevils won the "phantom" contest 79–57, only to learn afterwards that the result would not be recorded as an official victory. The second match

1000-411: The middle of January after they struggled to a 6–18 record and sat in second-last place in the Western Conference. The team hired Shinshu Brave Warriors assistant coach Ryuji Kawai as Umeda's replacement. The team fared better in the second half of the season, posting 10–14 record under Kawai to remain within playoff contention, until consecutive losses to Osaka on April 16 and 17 made it impossible for

1040-695: The new league as the Ehime Orange Vikings . The team retained Kawai as head coach and started the season with a 10-man roster that included American imports Joshua Crawford and Craig Williams Jr. and Tatsuhiko Toshino as team captain. After losing their first four games of the season, the team added two small forwards to their roster, Frenchman Rémi Barry as their third import player and Shugaku Izumi . 2005–06 season 2006–07 season 2007–08 season Takayuki Yasuda Taku Saito Bj league The bj league ( 日本プロバスケットボールリーグ , Nihon Puro Basukettobōru Rīgu , also referred to as

1080-432: The players to remain in Japan. Assistant coach Tony Hanson ( tl ) took over coaching responsibilities following the departures and the team lost their remaining ten matches, finishing the season seven games behind Shimane. The team's star player Yukinori Suzuki, who had been with the club since its inception and appeared in three All-Star matches, retired at the end of the 2010–2011 at the age of 34 in order to take over as

1120-660: The playoff for third. To increase their popularity in the wider region, the team played half of their home games in Beppu and two matches each in Hita , Oita and Usa cities in Oita Prefecture as well as Buzen and Fukuoka cities in Fukuoka Prefecture . The following season the league expanded to ten teams and divided into eastern and western conferences, with the top three teams in each conference advancing to

1160-441: The playoffs. In the Western Conference, the HeatDevils finished in fourth place (19–25), one game behind the expansion Rizing Fukuoka (20–24). Oita finished the season disastrously, losing their final five games while Fukuoka won seven of their last eight to climb into third place. Coach Dai Oketani left the club at the end of the season. The 2008–09 season under replacement coach Tadaharu Ogawa saw Oita fall to just eight wins,

1200-509: The reigning champion Ryukyu Golden Kings in the first round of the playoffs and recorded a surprising 74–67 win in Game 1 of the three-game series after trailing 21–9 at quarter time. Ryukyu recovered the next day to win Game 2 92–68, as well as the 10-minute tiebreaker match 23–18 that was played immediately after Game 2. Suzuki left the club at the end of the season, having recorded an 82–126 (39.4%) win–loss record during his four years as coach of

1240-466: The same period. The 2010–11 season saw the league expand to 16 teams and the playoff system was expanded to include the top six teams of each conference. However, the season was ultimately affected by the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake , which led to three Eastern Conference teams withdrawing from play before the season ended. In the Western Conference, which had expanded to nine teams with the introduction of

Ehime Orange Vikings - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-515: The series though, and their losing streak increased to six until they won the second game of a return series in Sendai on 3 December. After that they won just two of their next twelve matches for a 4–16 win–loss record at the mid-point of the season. Oita improved in the second half of the season and managed a six-game winning streak at one stage. They finished in fifth place with a 15–25 win–loss record, three games behind fourth-placed Sendai. They played

1320-492: The team to sneak into eighth spot. In what was to be a fitting end to the team's Oita era, they were scheduled to play their final two games of the season at Beppu Arena on 23 and 24 April 2016 against the Kanazawa Samuraiz , who hired Suzuki as coach during the off-season. However, due to concerns about the possibility of aftershocks following the earthquakes that hit Kumamoto and Oita Prefectures one week earlier,

1360-407: The team. In June 2015, KBC Total Services announced the team was to be known as the Oita Ehime HeatDevils for the 2015–16 season. In the same press release, the team announced their intention to seek public proposals for a new name for the team for the 2016–17 season. The following month an official request for public suggestions was posted to the club's website. In August 2015 it was announced that

1400-544: The top six. For the 2014–15 the league's playoff bracket was further expanded so that the top 8 teams of each conference qualified for the finals. On 16 April 2015, with the HeatDevils in 7th place and guaranteed their first playoff appearance in eight years, the league announced the withdrawal of Oita's operating company Basukede from the league due to their worsening financial position, after reporting losses of 120 million yen over their two years of ownership. On 20 April Basukede concluded an agreement for transfer of ownership of

1440-533: The worst record in the expanded 12-team, 52-game league. The following year the team hired former NBA player Brian Rowsom to coach the club. He led the team to a 25–27 record, finishing 5th in the Western Conference, four games outside of the playoffs behind the Shiga Lakestars . In the middle of April Oita was just one game behind Shiga, but a poor finish to the season once again hurt the team, losing four of their final six matches while Shiga won five over

1480-528: The years with a star studded cast which featured UConn alumnus such as EJ Harrison a 1999 NCAA Championship winner. After retiring from basketball, Hanson set up Hoop Dreams Social Enterprise, utilizing his degree in Special Education to run an initiative to help young people with education problems, using basketball to aid them. He was also chairperson of Middlesbrough Black & Minority Ethnic Network, championing under represented ethnic groups in

1520-734: Was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in the third round of the 1977 NBA draft . After a standout high school career at Holy Cross High School , Hanson attended the University of Connecticut playing under legendary coach Dee Rowe . In his junior season, they won the ECAC New England Championship as he guided the team to a Sweet 16 appearance. He was also the Yankee Conference Rookie of the Year in 1974. The next two seasons saw Hanson in

1560-919: Was named to the UConn Basketball All-Century Team in 2001 as well as its Huskies of Honor in 2007. Following four successful years with Huskies, Hanson was picked by New Orleans Jazz in the third round of the 1977 NBA draft . He played preseason but due to Injury he continued his career in Europe. After not making the New Orleans Jazz first team, Hanson moved to Europe and had highly successful career in Italy, France, Northern Ireland and England. His endeavors in England led him to Tees Valley Mohawks , where he became coach after retirement winning countless trophies throughout

1600-629: Was the major sponsor of the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. The bj league operated on the American sports franchise system. This was in contrast to the Japan Super League and its successor, the National Basketball League , which was a corporate league composed primarily of company teams and other clubs affiliated with the JBA. There was no system of promotion and relegation between the two leagues. This division in

#310689