Geoffrey Katsuhisa is the Iwate Big Bulls¡¯ new head coach, the bj-league squad announced on Monday.
Katsuhisa steps into the spotlight following Dai Oketani¡¯s departure after three stellar seasons and three playoff appearances at the helm, and the Big Bulls are coming off their first-ever trip to the Final Four after a 41-11 regular season.
Oketani, who captured two titles with the Ryukyu Golden Kings before joining the Tohoku-based Big Bulls, has taken over as the Osaka Evessa bench boss.
The Japan Times broke the story last Tuesday, reporting Iwate¡¯s decision to hire Katsuhisa, a Tokyo native.
Katsuhisa, 34, worked the past four seasons for the Chiba Jets, who entered the bj-league as an expansion team in 2011 and then defected to the NBL for the 2013-14 season. He served as the team¡¯s assistant coach and translator under Eric Gardow, Shinji Tomiyama and Reggie Geary.
Before joining the Jets, Katsuhisa spent one season as the Tokyo Apache¡¯s manager and translator. He worked under head coach Bob Hill, the longtime NBA mentor, before the team folded in the summer of 2011.
Katsuhisa¡¯s younger brother, Michael, is the Shimane Susanoo Magic¡¯s new sideline supervisor. He served in that same capacity for the Yokohama B-Corsairs for the past two seasons.
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