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Shaquille
O'Neal: "When you are 60, hang out with 60-year-olds, not 20-year-olds.
That is all I got to say about Jerry Buss."
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HoopsHype.com Interviews Yuta
Tabuse: "If Japanese kids wear my jerseys, that would be awesome"
Yuta Tabuse: Actually, my mom and my sister started playing basketball, so I was going when my sister was playing. Then, I started to play. I did play baseball. When I was playing basketball, at the same time I was playing baseball, too. Was there a point where you seriously had to make a choice between baseball and basketball? YT: A little bit, but as I played more basketball, I started thinking that playing basketball was better than playing baseball. So I quit playing baseball and played just basketball. How did you wind up at Brigham Young-Hawaii? YT: I was looking at other schools, but (BYU-Hawaii) had a good English program for international students. So that’s why I chose that school. It’s close to Japan, too. What parts of American culture were you familiar with prior to coming here? YT: I was familiar with the music. Pop and R&B is very popular in Japan. And especially movies. Japanese people like to watch the American movies. "Back to the Future," I like the old movies (laughs). Have you thought much about the marketing of Yuta Tabuse as the first Japanese-born NBA player? YT: I hope that if I start to play with the Suns, it’s going to big in Japan. No one has been a Japanese player in the NBA, especially because my size is such a small size. If Japanese kids wear my jerseys, that would be awesome for me. I would be so glad to see that. As I play in the States, I hope that many Japanese kids start to play basketball. When Ichiro (Suzuki) and (Hideo) Nomo started to play (major league) baseball, Japanese kids wanted to start to play baseball. So I want the same to thing to happen as I start to play in the NBA – many kids wanting to play basketball. The most recent example of that is Yao Ming’s impact in China after being the No. 1 pick a couple of years ago. What are your thoughts on how that was handled? YT: It was not only in China. In (all of) Asia, they were thinking, “I want to play in the NBA like Yao Ming.” I want the same thing to happen for me if I play for the Suns. Yao Ming is a big man and I am small, so everyone will think, “I want to play in the NBA.” Do you think because of your size that you could be more relatable than Yao was in that sense? YT: More smaller. Much smaller (laughs). Have you talked with Yao? YT: I had a chance to talk to him when I was with Denver last year in the preseason. I played against him when I was in high school in the Asian Cup. Of course, I know him and I asked him (last year), “Do you remember me?” He said, “Yes, we played against each other in high school.” I didn’t have time, really, to talk to him. I just said, “Good luck,” and he told me the same thing. What has been the biggest difference for you this summer compared to last year? YT: I have one year experience to play in the NBA summer league and NBA preseason last year, which gave me more confidence to play. I could adjust to play at such a high level. I played in the minor leagues last year. Whenever I went to the court from the bench, I felt like I could do that. I had the confidence. In the summer league team with the Suns, we had LB (Leandro Barbosa) as the point guard, so I felt very comfortable. He was playing very good every game. When he got tired, I needed to sub for him, so whenever I went on the court, I didn’t get nervous because LB did a good job before I played. He set it up for me. Have you gotten to know Barbosa a little better this summer? YT: He’s very friendly. I like his personality. He’s very unique and he likes to talk. I like him very much. What will it be like when you take the court for the first time in an NBA regular season game? YT: I cannot imagine. It’s going to be a dream come true. If it’s possible, I want to stop everything and hear the announcer. I can’t explain how it’s going to be such a good time. I hope it’s going to happen. Man, it’s going to be amazing. What do you think about Phoenix as a city so far? YT: As a city, it’s hot (laughs). It’s a nice town. It’s very quiet and the people are so kind. Have you been recognized yet? YT: No, I don’t think so, but hopefully it’s coming. The Suns have made some changes this summer in acquiring some new players. How do you view their chances this season? YT: I just want to focus on making the team and wearing the uniform, and to make the roster. So it’s hard to say about the team for me in my situation. I’m going to be the last member of the team, but it’s going to be a good team. There is a lot of talent with Steve Nash, Q (Quentin Richardson), it’s going to be a good team. What has it been like to practice with Steve Nash? YT: I’m so glad to play against Nash every day because he’s my favorite player. He’s such a nice person off the court, too. He’s taking care of everyone. Everyday, he’s talking to everybody. What do you think you can learn from being around a veteran point guard like Nash? YT: Everything, I think (laughs). But, especially how he can beat such big guys, so I’m always watching how he can beat the (bigger) guys. One thing that I realized about that is that he keeps dribbling. Dribbling, dribbling, dribbling. And whenever he’s open, he can make the shot. Whenever he finds the open man, he passes to the open man with very good timing. That’s a true point guard, I guess. For the other players, it’s fun to play with him because he can pass. He’s a true leader on the court and I want to do that. Jeff Sinomada is
a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com Tell us what you think about this interview. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com _____________________ |
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