Court-side Interview: Joe Navarro
Joe Navarro is a coach that is currently working in Japan’s B.League. He gave us a few minutes of his time to do this interview. This gives you an idea of how the market works in Japan.
What influenced you to become a professional coach?
My playing days influenced me the most to be a coach. I was blessed with great coaches throughout my career. Not just the basketball side, but the personal relationships. Most of my coaches were role models to me, and I want to continue that with my players.
How does language play a role in communicating with your players and coaching staff?
Language plays a huge part in communicating here. I am very lucky to have a few of my players understand and speak English and Japanese, so it makes it easier. Basketball is a pretty common language as well, I’m always surprised how much basketball “slang” is really a worldwide language. There’s a lot of ways to communicate, but
What is your coaching philosophy/style on offense and defense?
Language plays a huge part in communicating here. I am very lucky to have a few of my players understand and speak English and Japanese, so it makes it easier. Basketball is a pretty common language as well, I’m always surprised how much basketball “slang” is really a worldwide language. There’s a lot of ways to communicate, but language is obviously the first and easiest way.
What do you think the most important qualities in your players are?
My coaching philosophy changes every season. I play to the strengths of my roster. It’s my job as a coach to put the players in the best situation possible. I change my system to match my players. I’ve never seen a coach score a point or get a stop. There is always a lot of turnaround with rosters in the overseas market every season. As a coach, you have to be flexible in terms of your X-Os or sooner or later you’re going to get exposed.
When you search for talent what resources do you rely on?
Books have been written on that question, but I’ll try and keep it short. Obviously, you have to be able to play. I don’t care how good a teammate you are, if you can’t play, you can’t play. Japan is a very respectful culture, so with my imports, they have to be understanding of that off the court. You’re always representing the franchise, and the city/prefecture so a positive reflection is mandatory. If you can’t handle it you’ll go home. Flights leave every day. Social interaction is also extremely important. You’re going to be spending 8 hours a day for 10 months with your team. The ability to be a friend and teammate is essential.
How do you prefer to be contacted when looking for players to fill up your roster?
Email is the best for me to be contacted. I appreciate the agents who understand my league and import requirements. Here in Japan, we play 1,2,1,2, with 3 imports, which basically means “only bigs”. When I receive emails from agents with lists of their bigs with resume and links, it makes my job a lot easier.
Do you prefer new players to have previous professional experience?
Depends on the player and budget. I’m not afraid of taking rookies, but I usually have to see them in person unless they played in a conference I’m familiar with.
How much preparation do you make before each game?
Every practice, workout, meal, and sleep is preparation for the next game. 24/7.
If there’s any position you would want your player to have an advantage at, what is it?
I really don’t consider player positions very much. Basketball has now become a tweener game. Specialized positions pretty much went away years ago. There’s still a few true PGs and 5s, but with limited imports versatility is really the first thing I look at.
When do you feel players learn the most, in practice or in games (explain)?
I have no idea. Haha. Every player learns differently, and it’s up to the player. If he wants to learn he will. At this level, either you do, or I’ll find another.
What is your formula to helping players become better?
I don’t really have a formula, again, it’s similar to the above answer. This isn’t AAU14. We’re pros, and there’s a lot more players than there are jobs. We practice 5 days a week, weights 3 times. There’s plenty of opportunities to improve. It’s up to the player to get better, not the coach.
What is the most difficult position to fill?
Again, I don’t really do a lot of position stuff. I choose my imports on their ability to score in multiple ways and defend multiple positions. We usually sign one import at a time, so our target changes depending on the roster and who we have in ink.
Would you agree that guards on most ball clubs tend to come from local talent and if so why?
That depends on what country you’re in. In Japan, it’s 90% guards, and Japan has a very good youth development program. Every team here has 3-6 very good, fundamentally sound guards, so it’s silly to bring in an import to play the 1. It’s possible to play a big 2 or 3, but he usually has to defend the import big, so he better be 6-7 at least. There are lots of leagues where you can bring in a guard as an import, but their rules are much different than Japan.
