Kai Toews (テーブス海, born September 17, 1998) is a Japanese professional basketball player for Alvark Tokyo of the B. League.
 Toews with Alvark Tokyo in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 3 – Alvark Tokyo | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | B.League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 September 1998 Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | |||||||||||||||
| College | UNC Wilmington (2018–2019) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2020: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2020–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Utsunomiya Brex | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Shiga Lakes | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Alvark Tokyo | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life
editToews grew up playing soccer before starting to play basketball in fourth grade. His father, former professional player BT Toews, taught him the fundamentals of the game.[1] Growing up, Toews cited Allen Iverson as his favorite basketball player.[2] Toews attended Keihoku High School for his freshman and sophomore years and was recruited by Japanese universities but had higher ambitions.[3] Toews moved to the United States and attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts for two years.[2] In his senior season, Toews helped the team to a 31–4 record and the New England Prep Class AAA Championship, earned honorable mention All-NEPSAC honors.[4] UNC Wilmington coach C.B. McGrath offered Toews a scholarship, after seeing him play when McGrath was an assistant at North Carolina.[1]
College career
editOn November 25, 2018, Toews had a career-high 14 assists against Eastern Illinois.[3] As a freshman, Toews started 32 of 33 games and averaged 8.8 points, 7.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. He finished second in NCAA Division I in assists per game, behind only Murray State's Ja Morant. He set the Colonial Athletic Association single-season assists record with 253 and was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team.[2] Toews was a finalist for the 2019 Kyle Macy Award presented by CollegeInsider.com to the nation's top freshman basketball player.[1] In his sophomore season, Toews started 12 of 13 games for UNC Wilmington and averaged 5.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game.[5] After the team's game against Vanderbilt on December 21, 2019, Toews announced he was leaving the team to pursue professional opportunities. “Obviously, it was a total surprise to us,” coach McGrath said.[2] Toews finished his career with 362 points, 112 rebounds and 309 assists.[5]
Professional career
editUtsunomiya Brex (2020–2022)
editOn January 10, 2020, Toews signed a professional contract with the Utsunomiya Brex in Japan.[6]
Shiga Lakes (2022–2023)
editOn June 13, 2022, Toews signed with the Shiga Lakes for the 2022–23 B.League season.[7]
Alvark Tokyo (2023–present)
editOn June 30, 2023, Toews signed with Alvark Tokyo.[8]
National team career
editToews has played for Japan's Under-15 and Under-19 national teams.[2] Toews competed for Japan in the 2019 William Jones Cup in Taiwan.[9]
Personal life
editHis cousin Jonathan Toews played for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League from 2007 to 2023.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Jenkins, Venita (October 19, 2019). "Kai Toews '22". UNC Wilmington. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Odeven, Ed (December 24, 2019). "UNCW's Kai Toews leaves school to pursue pro career in Japan". Japan Times. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Odeven, Ed (January 24, 2019). "UNC Wilmington's Kai Toews bursts onto scene as dynamic passer in freshman season". Japan Times. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "Winter Athletes Finish Triumphant Season". Northfield Mount Hermon School. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "PG Toews leaving UNCW to pursue professional basketball career". WECT. December 23, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Smist, John (January 10, 2020). "Kai Toews signs professional contract". WECT. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ "テーブス海選手 2022-23シーズン選手契約のご報告". 滋賀レイクス (in Japanese). 13 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "テーブス海選手 2023-24シーズン 新加入のご報告" (in Japanese). Alvark Tokyo. June 30, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (June 15, 2019). "Japan coaches thinking long term for young hoop prospects". Japan Times. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
External links
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