JR Sakuragi

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Basketball player
JR Sakuragi
Sakuragi jr.jpg
Player information
Full name JR Sakuragi
birthday October 30, 1976
place of birth Bakersfield, CA, United States
size 2.03 meters
position Center , power forward
college UCLA
NBA draft 1998, 56. Pick, Vancouver Grizzlies
Club information
society JapanJapan Aisin Sea Horses
league JBL Super League
Jersey number 32
National team
Japan

JR Sakuragi ( Jap. 桜木ジェイアール , Sakuragi Jeiāru * 30th October 1976 in Bakersfield , California , United States as Milton Henderson junior ) is a naturalized Japanese basketball player of the Aisin Sea Horses in the Japanese professional league JBL . The 2.03 meter tall native American plays the positions of center and power forward and is the current Japanese international.

Career

Sakuragi, who was then called Milton "JR" Henderson, spent four years at UCLA and won the 1995 NCAA championship with the Bruins. In his fourth year he scored 19 points and eight rebounds per game. Henderson was signed in the 1998 NBA draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 56th place, but only played in 30 games (three points per game) and was then retired.

Shorter engagements in lower class US teams (Los Angeles Stars, Las Vegas Silver Bandits), Venezuela, Israel, France and Saudi Arabia followed in 2001 the offer to play in Japan with the Aisin Sea Horses. Although Henderson was initially skeptical, he accepted and played in the Japanese professional league JBL. Right off the bat, he scored 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, making him fifth-best basketball player in the league. He was elected to the All-Star-Team (which he has achieved continuously to this day) and played his part in winning the 2003 Sea Horses title.

In the years that followed, Henderson's performance remained constant, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. In 2004 the second championship followed, but although he managed his career best of 23 points per game in 2004-5, the Sea Horses in 2005 remained untitled. During the summer break, Henderson went to Venezuela to join the Marinos de Anzoátegui, where he played five playoff games (16 points and seven rebounds on average) and became champions. A year later he repeated his "summer getaway" by playing 25 games for the Grises de Humacao in Puerto Rico. After his return, Henderson played a very good season 2006-7 with the Sea Horses, achieved new career highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds per game and won the Japanese Cup.

That season, Sea Horses coach Kimikazu Suzuki persuaded him to apply for Japanese citizenship. Suzuki wanted Henderson to play for the Japanese national team, and besides, as a national, he would no longer fall below the foreigner salary limit of $ 180,000 a year. Since Henderson's family felt at home in Japan, he followed this request, learned a “basic understanding” of spoken and written Japanese and, among other things, shaped himself. a. 1,750 Kanji a. To increase his chances of naturalization, he changed his name from Milton Henderson to "JR Sakuragi" ( cherry (blossom) tree ), which also corresponds to the surname of Hanamichi Sakuragi , the hero of the popular basketball manga Slam Dunk . On July 2, 2007, Sakuragi officially became a Japanese citizen, and soon made his debut for the Japanese national team. However, he did not manage to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 2007–8 and 2008–9 seasons, however, were successful. Sakuragi continued to score 20 points and 10 rebounds, leading Aisin to the championship in 2008 and 2009.

Private life

Sakuragi is married to his wife Jennifer and has a daughter. He now calls Japan his second home.

successes

  • JBL Champion 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009 with the Aisin Sea Horses
  • JBL Challenge Cup 2007 with the Aisin Sea Horses
  • JBL All Star Team 2003 to 2009
  • Venezuelan champion 2005 with the Marinos de Anzoátegui
  • 1995 NCAA Championship with the UCLA Bruins

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jerome Crowe: Former Bruin is now Japan's JR Sakuragi. In: Los Angeles Times. January 21, 2008, accessed February 28, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Kaz Nagatsuka: Former UCLA player gets Japanese citizenship, spot on national hoops team. In: The Japan Times . July 17, 2007, accessed February 28, 2009 .
  3. ↑ Kaz Nagatsuka: Sea Horses strike early to defend hoops title. In: The Japan Times. January 13, 2009, accessed February 28, 2009 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sakuragi, JR
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Milton Henderson, 桜 木 ジ ェ イ ア ー ル (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese-American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH Bakersfield , California , USA