Height Doesn’t Actually Matter—Thoughts from the Father of Togashi, Former U-16 Japanese National Team Head Coach

Ideally, the point guard should also be 180 cm. ……

Japan’s men’s basketball team, which qualified for the Olympics on its own for the first time in 48 years, would have won the qualifying league game against France on July 30 had it not been for a “questionable call”. The two point guards of the Japanese national team are Yuki Togashi (167 cm tall) and Yuki Kawamura (172 cm tall).

When I was active, competing on the world stage was a dream come true. I thought it would be a miracle if I could win this tournament, but I am amazed that I am competing on equal terms with the world’s best. I am amazed.

Hideki, Yuki’s father, said after watching the match against France.

Yuki’s performance makes me think that height is no longer a factor in becoming a basketball player.

No, I think Yuki resents his parents. Both of his parents are small” (Hideki Togashi, hereafter).

Hideki himself started playing basketball in the first year of junior high school, and after graduating from university, he coached basketball teams at four different junior high schools. After graduating from university, he coached the basketball teams at four different junior high schools, all of which became regulars in national tournaments and were twice ranked No. 1 in Japan.

He also served as the head coach of the Japan U-16 national team, and when he became the basketball coach of the basketball team at Kaishi International High School in Niigata Prefecture, which opened in 2002, the 170-cm-tall, highly skilled coach won a national championship in just five years.

Hideki’s wife was also a basketball player, but she is 155 cm tall. He was also a member of a working team, so does height have anything to do with basketball players?

No, no, I was a member of the third team all through my college years, and I thought that being taller had an advantage. I still think so.

When he shoots a 3-point shot, I think he can’t see the ring. I don’t know how he gets it in. As a team builder, I want to have as many big players as possible. This is my true intention.”

Who is the point guard on the Kaishi International High School team that you are currently coaching?

He is 165 cm. He is small, but he is fast, can play defense, and is a good shooter.

For some reason, many point guards are small. What’s this?

I believe that point guards need special skills. If you don’t have experience playing point guard before middle school, you can’t do it after high school. It’s totally different from other positions in terms of how you use your eyes and your head.”

In basketball, it is the bigger players who are the point getters. Therefore, small players are often given the position of point guard from their mini-basketball days, which is the situation in Japan today. Hideki says that experience is necessary for a point guard, who reads the flow and development of the game, gives instructions to his teammates, and creates the game.

I would like to see a point guard of about 180 cm grow up, but looking at the current situation, it is very difficult.