This week’s interview is with Kris Thiesen, head coach of the St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo and director and head coach of Tokyo Samurai. We deep dive into youth hoops in Japan.
Before we get into the talk with Kris Thiesen, we would like to give you a sneak peak of the Taking The Charge Prospects Podcast with German guard Len Schoormann - which is part of the paid subscription section of the TTC substack.
3:25 - Len Schoormann sneak preview
And now onto our interview with Kris Thiesen about youth hoops in Japan - We hope you enjoy the interview
8:10 - Youth structures in Japanese basketball
13:50 - What types of kids are playing in the B.League U18 league
15:45 - What are some hotbeds for Japanese hoops
17:05 - State of the game in Japan and its development over recent years
20:45 - Basketball’s status compared to baseball in Japan
22:35 - What happens to players after high school
27:40 - International school leagues in Japan
32:20 - Club and school playing year round
33:55 - Impact of Avi Schafer being brought into the Japanese national team ranks as someone from international schools
39:30 - Three Tokyo Samurai players at U18 Japanese training camp for FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022
42:15 - Who are some players who have come through the St. Mary’s school and/or Samurai
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Taking The Charge: Kris Thiesen, head coach St. Mary's International School and Tokyo Samurai