Read the full story on SportsLook - Exclusive: Reggie Geary Seeking a Return to B.League's Coaching Ranks
Veteran coach Reggie Geary, who led the Yokohama B-Corsairs to a title in their second season of existence, in the now-disbanded bj-league in 2012-13, aims to return to Japan to relaunch his coaching career.
The former University of Arizona standout and NBA player shared his aspirations to get back into coaching in an April 3 interview with SportsLook.
"I'm looking to get back into coaching in Japan as my main priority," Geary, 50, said in the exclusive interview. "Japan is a country where my family and I loved living and I enjoyed working."
What's Geary mostly been up to since his tenure as coach of the B.League's Nagoya Diamond Dolphins ended in 2017?
"Over the last five years I have been working at the University of Arizona in their athletic department while also doing media covering our nationally ranked men's basketball team on the radio as the expert analyst," Geary noted. "This has been great in re-energizing my passion for the game."
As a player known for his dynamic defensive skills, Geary earned a spot on the 1995-96 All Pac-10 Conference First Team. And throughout his coaching career, Geary's teams have been known for their defensive acumen.
Geary discussed his career credentials in the interview while also highlighting what he believes makes him a strong head coaching candidate. He cited 23 years of experience after his college playing career, including nine as a player in the NBA and overseas pro leagues and 14 as a coach at the professional and collegiate levels.
In seeking a new coaching gig in the B.League, he had this to say: "I want to share my knowledge and work with young professionals to develop their game and bring more winning experiences to a team, organization and city."
Reggie Geary Had a Remarkable Run with the Yokohama B-Corsairs
Geary guided the B-Corsairs to the bj-league's Final Four in the team's inaugural 2011-12 season. It's practically unheard of for a new organization to achieve that level of success in a pro league as big as the bj-league was at that time (19 teams).
The B-Corsairs had a 31-21 record in their first season, followed by a 35-17 mark in their title-winning campaign in 2012-13.
For Geary, it added up to a wildly successful stint with Yokohama ― a combined regular-season record of 66-38.
More than a decade ago, Geary established himself as a known entity as a coach in Japan by leading a brand-new team to back-to-back playoff appearances. He then coached the Chiba Jets (2013-15) and Mitsubishi/Nagoya Diamond Dolphins (2015-17) in the era bridging the end of the NBL (the successor to the Japan Basketball Association's old-school corporate league, the JBL) and the launch of the B.League in 2016.
In Geary's second seasons with Yokohama and Chiba, both teams had better records than in his first years at the helm. With the Diamond Dolphins, the team went 27-28 and 27-33 in back-to-back campaigns.
Overall, this has helped him in his quest to once again be on the coaching radar of teams in the B.League.
"I've had a lot of good feedback from teams, recently spoke with one about a future position, and soon should be talking with another team for next season," Geary said.
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
