Kai Toews (テーブス海, born September 17, 1998) is a Japanese professional basketball player who currently plays for the Shiga Lakes of the B. League. His cousin Jonathan Toews plays for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.[1]
No. 7 – Shiga Lakes | ||||||||||||||
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Position | Point guard | |||||||||||||
League | B. League | |||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
Born | (1998-09-17) 17 September 1998 (age 24) Tokyo, Japan | |||||||||||||
Nationality | Japanese | |||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||
Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | |||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||
High school |
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College | UNC Wilmington (2018–2019) | |||||||||||||
NBA draft | 2020 / Undrafted | |||||||||||||
Playing career | 2020–present | |||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||
2020–2022 | Utsunomiya Brex | |||||||||||||
2022–present | Shiga Lakes | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Toews 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.[2] Growing up, Toews cited Allen Iverson as his favorite basketball player.[3] Toews attended Keihoku High School for his freshman and sophomore years and was recruited by Japanese universities but had higher ambitions.[4] Toews moved to the United States and attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts for two years.[3] 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.[1] UNC Wilmington coach C.B. McGrath offered Toews a scholarship, after seeing him play when McGrath was an assistant at North Carolina.[2]
On November 25, 2018, Toews had a career-high 14 assists against Eastern Illinois.[4] 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.[3] Toews was a finalist for the 2019 Kyle Macy Award presented by CollegeInsider.com to the nation's top freshman basketball player.[2] 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.[3] Toews finished his career with 362 points, 112 rebounds and 309 assists.[5]
On January 10, 2020, Toews signed a professional contract with the Utsunomiya Brex in Japan.[6]
Toews has played for Japan's Under-15 and Under-19 national teams.[3] Toews competed for Japan in the 2019 William Jones Cup in Taiwan.[7]
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