Kota Akama, a rising Japanese basketball talent, has decided to attend Brandon Hall School in Atlanta, GA as the start to his experience as a student athlete in the US. Longtime UPG partner, the Gymrats, founded and lead by Takuya ‘T’ Okada, has lead to the development and discovery of Akama and helped facilitate a trip to Atlanta last year.
Okada and UPG CEO, Jerone Dodd, are former teammates in Japan with the Saitama Broncos, currently of the BJ-League. “We have worked with the Gymrats in the past and it was just a matter of time before myself and T put something together. I think Kanna Suzuki’s success lead to everyone seeing the system of development we had in place. Everyone is ecstatic that Kota will also have the chance to come to Atlanta and express and hone his talents.”
The Gymrats is an organization started in Shizuoka, Japan which has successfully developed a travel ABA team, provides camps and a myriad of development opportunities throughout Japan.
