Michael Takahashi
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| No. 34 – Aisin Seahorses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Small forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Japanese NBL | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 5, 1974 Fukushima, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 92 kg (203 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Cal State Northridge (1993–1995) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1995–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2002 | Isuzu Motors / Isuzu Giga Cats | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Niigata Albirex BB | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2014 | Toyota Alvark | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–present | Aisin Seahorses | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Michael Takahashi (高橋 マイケル, Takahashi Michael, born September 5, 1974) formerly Michael Dorsey, sometimes called Maikeru Takahashi is a Japanese professional basketball player. He was considered in the mid-1990s to early 2000s one of the best players in Asia, a prolific scorer and rebounder, dominating the opposition through his athleticism and technique .
Biography
He was born in Fukushima to Ikuko Takahashi, a Japanese who now works as a computer programmer in Missouri, and American musician Willie Dorsey who died sometime before 1995. Michael moved to the United States when he was 2 years old, settling in Los Angeles where he started playing basketball in high school.[2] He is married and has two children.[3]
Professional career
After playing in college for Cal State Northridge he moved to Japan after playing there in the Universiade, on arrival he adopted his mother's surname of Takahashi to integrate.
He joined Isuzu Motors of the Japan Basketball League for the 1995-1996 season and quickly established himself in Japanese basketball, winning the league title and being awarded rookie of the year and the first of many All-Star designations. From then on he would be a vital element of the team that won all but two titles until it withdrew from the league due to financial difficulties in 2002.
He would later repeat that success at Toyota Alvark where he won the title a further three times before joining his current team the Aisin Seahorses. He recently won his ninth championship in his first year with the Aisin seahorses.
National Team
As a Japanese citizen he was eligible to play for the Japan national basketball team of which he became a mainstay starting with the 1995 Asian Championship where he helped the team win a bronze medal. They would do better at the next edition losing the final to South Korea which qualified them for the FIBA World Championship for the first time in 31 years.
At the 1998 tournament in Athens they were eliminated at the group stage, losing all their games although Takahashi finished as his team's best scorer with 16.4 PPG.[4] After playing in the 1999 Asian Championship, the 2002 Asian Games and the 2003 Asian Championship (missing the 2001 edition due to club interference) without repeating earlier successes, his distinguished international career ended.
References
- ^ "All-Star cager Takahashi moving on", Japan Times, 31 December 2002. Retrieved on 15 February 2015
- ^ Henson, Joaquin. "Watch out for Jap-Am", The Philippine Star, 2 October 2002. Retrieved on 15 February 2015.
- ^ Dr FingerRoll. "Exclusive interview with Japanese-American forward Michael Takahashi Dorsey", Basketball Telegraph, 15 December 2010. Retrieved on 15 February 2015.
- ^ "Maikeru Takahashi player profile", FIBA. Retrieved on 16 February 2015.