Hoops

NBL Non-Restricted Asian Prospects

Yugi Togashi 5’6 PG / Chikara Tanaka 6’4 PG
Yudai Baba 6’4 SG / ?
Yuta Watanabe 6’9 SF / ?
Rui Hachimura 6’9 PF / Avi Schafer 6’9 PF
Hugh Watanabe 6’10 C / ?

Could really push Australia going forward, just need a couple more elite guys.

Yudai Baba- Elite sg.
Yugi Togashi - Japan’s starting pg playing in Japan.
Yuta watanabe - g league unlikely to get.
Hugh watanabe - young 6’10 centre that has surprised me

baba would be a great get,

Wildcats have had discussions with Zhou Qi

IMHO it's a fundamentally flawed concept.

The aim is to make our league popular so we can attract viewers and/or sell the broadcasts. So we're only interested in countries where there is already a huge market and big dollars for BBall.

We want players of sufficient quality that they would bolster our squads and get minutes, and that already have a sufficient profile to generate interest from their home country.
Yet any such players would already be able to make better money in those same home leagues!!

We could target countries where even the best local players get paid a pittance (Indonesia for example) but that probably means there is limited money available for BBall, so we won't get much by selling our games there.

It only works for Next Stars, because we are exploiting a gap year.

Would love to see Gabe Norwood in the NBL

AFAIK, the Asian player rule doesn't apply to naturalised Asians (eg Quincy Douby, Andre Blatche, Ricardo Ratliff, Nick Fazekas) or any other foreign raised Asians with mixed heritage especially including Standhardinger, Wright, Jason Brickman and Stanley Pringle among many others....If Jordan Clarkson ever expresses an interest in the (A)NBL, would an Asian player exception be made for him?

From a pure $$ perspective, and has been discussed several times before Zhou Qi and Abudushalamu Abudurexiti wouldn't play on NBL money is as... Other full Asian prospects of interest in the same boat include Japan's Yuta Watanabe, Yudai Baba (was in the Mavericks mini-camp), Lebanon's Wael Aralkji, a Goran Dragic style lefty guard, in addition to a gamut of South Koreans and Iranians.

A point to consider are that (again AFAIK), the Asian/Oceania player rule was changed to only include player's from select Asian countries (Iran and Lebanon are excluded, this rule directly affected Guam international Tai Wesley).

To stimulate real debate here, this set up could be workable by taking a leaf out of the A-League's book who top of a club's salary to overseas marquees with their own contribution fund. Perhaps a combination of club payments, league contributions and personal sponsors (perhaps from the country of origen of said player- eg Huawei for Chinese players) would move the needle somewhat.

Finally, In many cases, we probably also underestimate the transition not just from a playing, but a living perspective to the (A)NBL. Some people here criticised Brisbane's handling of Hiejima, this article may provide some perspective.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/15/basketball/b-league/makoto-hiejima-never-found-comfort-zone-brisbane-bullets/#.XTlaWOgzbIU

Joe Alexander Taiwan EXNBA PLAYER

Well Done to the Perth Wildcats!!! And to the public for getting behind the club and basketball!! Who said the NBL is dead!!!