Rowsom's role in Oita's turnaround worthy of honors

Brian Rowsom deserves to be on the short list of candidates for the bj-league's coach of the year honors.

After all, he took over an Oita HeatDevils team that went 8-44 last year under Tadaharu Ogawa and has guided them to a 23-23 record entering its final bye week of the season.

Fighting for a playoff spot, the HeatDevils close out the season by playing a two-game series against the Osaka Evessa next weekend, followed by back-to-back home series against the Shiga Lakestars (May 1-2) and the Ryukyu Golden Kings (May 8-9).

All three squads are ahead of fifth-place Oita in the Western Conference standings.

"It's a great playoff race shaping up in the West," Rowsom said on Sunday after his team's weekend sweep against the Kyoto Hannaryz. "We gained two games this weekend on Shiga as they lost two.

"We need to keep winning, though. . . "

The HeatDevils have won seven of their last eight games, putting themselves in position to make a push for the playoffs.

So what have been the keys to Oita's success in recent weeks?

Rowsom credits the team's solid overall defense and its improved offense.

"We seem to be playing great team defense now and sharing the ball more on offense, getting more people involved and it's nice to see it all come together," he said, "especially at the most important time of the year."

While Ricky Woods and Mike Bell, two of the league's top-10 scorers have garnered their share of accolades this season, Oita's Japanese players have also made steady contributions, including mainstays Yukinori Suzuki and Kimitake Sato.

Or as Rowsom put it: "They are playing great defense and scoring more, too."

The HeatDevils cannot be defined only by wins and losses. The team has developed into a cohesive unit that expects to enjoy itself on and off the court during the arduous seven-month season.

"We have a fun-loving, loose bunch that I let be themselves," said Rowsom, who played three seasons in the NBA (1987-90). "I am a player's coach. That's how it usually is in the NBA, so I give my players a lot of freedom that way.

"They all play cards a lot, joke around with each other and that breeds good team chemistry. Daisuke Kimiduka is the biggest jokester on our team as he makes us all laugh at all times.

"I love him and honestly all of our guys. They have not caused me one problem all year and have improved tremendously since I first saw them back in September."