Japan is not known internationally in terms of basketball. Basketball is one of the sports that Japanese does not excel that much, but this has not stopped them to play the said sport. Their losing in several competitions made them more determined and eager to win.
As we all know basketball is a game where the dominant gender that plays the sport are men, but in Japan there are also a lot of women who are into sport. A lot of Japanese women basketball players who aspires to become a big basketball icon.
Teiko Nishi
Teiko Nishi is one of the best and active Japanese women basketball players. She played for the UCLA Bruins each year from 1985 until 1988. Nishi was very active in playing basketball, she always plays in the Japanese American basketball leagues in Southern California throughout her childhood. Because of her talents she is always asked to play for the national team where she leads the team most of the time.
Nishi led her squad to CIF playoffs in her senior year , but lost the game to the Riverside Poly in the playoffs. In her career at UCLA, Nishi played with her team, it was one of the best performances Nishi had made because they were able to defeat the USC dynasty twice in their 1984-85 season. After graduating from UCLA Nishi started her coaching career, she had coached the girls’ basketball in South Torrance, California. Truly Teiko Nishi is one of the best Japanese women basketball players.
Lindsey Brooke Yamasaki
Lindsey was one of the best recruits and most sought after players in college basketball because of her great skills. After graduating in year 1998 Lindsey was named as the most highly recruited female basketball player in 1998. Lindsey is a former professional women’s basketball player too.
Lindsey under Oregon City High School played basketball where she led the women’s basketball team to championship four times and they finished #1 in the ranking of “USA Today” for three years isn’t it an evident that Yamasaki is a well skilled player? Yamasaki also played in Womens basketball Coaches High School All-American game where she even scored sixteen points and earn the Most valuable player that season.
At Stanfornd University Lindsey led the team to the Pac-10 regular season championship in her senior season, 2001-2002. During the 2002 Women’s National Basketball Association Draft Lindsey Yamasaki was the thirteenth pick in the 2nd round to the now-defunct Miami Sol.
Lindsey played 24 games for the New York Liberty as well and she is known for averaging 0.7 points. She has played in the National Women’s Basketball League for the San Jose Spiders, in Turkish Women’s Basketball League for Ceyhan Belediyespor and Botas Spor as well as for the San Antonio Silver Stars where she encounter an injury, she tore her right Achilles in June 2005.
In 2006 she trained with the Seattle Storm in pre-season, She was then released by the team in May, 2006 after that she had decided to retire. Though she is not an active player now she had left a mark as one of the best Japanese basketball players for she had shown how a women can become successful in a sport where men are the dominant players.
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