Ex-Bruin at home in Japan
TOKYO – J.R. Henderson is now J.R. Sakuragi.
Henderson, formerly of the UCLA Bruins and the Vancouver Grizzlies, is now a seven-time Japan Basketball League All-Star. He enjoys Japan so much he’s decided to become a naturalized citizen.
Taking that big step seemed to be the right thing to do for the 31-year-old forward from Bakersfield, Calif., who averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds as a freshman on UCLA’s 1995 NCAA championship team.
“I’ve really adjusted to the Japanese customs and respect how they do things here,” Sakuragi said Sunday. “So it was like a win-win situation for everyone.”
Sakuragi, who moved to Japan in 2001, still holds a U.S. passport but that could change.
“I have a couple of years to think about it,” Sakuragi said. “That’s part of the deal, they expect you to give up your citizenship. The U.S. allows dual citizenship but Japan doesn’t, so that’s a decision I’ll have to make.”
Sakuragi plays for the Aisin Sea Horses in the JBL but it was the chance to play for Japan’s national team that was behind his decision to become a Japanese citizen.
After earning his Japanese citizenship last July, Sakuragi joined the national team just before the Asia Championship, an Olympic qualifier.
Despite the addition of Sakuragi, who scored 11.9 points per game, the Japanese team fell short in its bid to qualify for the Beijing Games.
“I got on the team real late and we didn’t have enough time to get any chemistry going,” Sakuragi said. “I hope to be in good enough condition to give it another go for the next Olympics.”
After an impressive college career, Sakuragi was a second-round pick of Vancouver in the 1998 NBA draft. It was an experience he’d rather forget.
“That was the worst luck ever,” Sakuragi said. “When I got there, everyone was about to get fired, the team was about to move to Memphis. Timing is everything and there was nothing I could do about it.”
After playing 30 games for Vancouver in the 1998-99 season, Sakuragi had stints in Las Vegas, France, Puerto Rico and the Philippines before landing in Japan, a place where he now feels at home.
The only drawback to playing here, Sakuragi says, is having to adjust to the cramped quarters when the team travels.
Many of the hotels in Japan, especially ones in some of the rural areas Sakuragi travels to, weren’t built for someone with a 6-foot-8 frame.
“It’s a bit of a crapshoot,” Sakuragi said. “Some of the hotels are OK, but in some places on the road you can touch all four walls sitting in one spot.”