The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Magnum Rolle has returned to the professional basketball ranks in Asia.

Rolle recently signed a contract to join the Passlab Yamagata Wyverns in Japan’s National Basketball Development League (NBDL) for the second half of the season.

He previously spent two seasons (2012-14) in Japan and became an All-Star for the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins of the National Basketball League.

During the 2014-15 season, Rolle spent time globetrotting with Bnei Herzelia of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, Boulder Strip de Mayaguez of  Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional and the Yulon Dinos of Taiwan’s Super Basketball League.

Rolle joins the Wyverns, currently ranked fifth out of 10 teams in the NBDL at a record of 11-7. He will join the team on the floor January 23 when they take on the second ranked Otsuka Alphas.

In his last appearance in Japan and in 41 games for the Diamond Dolphins, Rolle averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He recorded seven double doubles on the year, including three in the final three games of the season.

Rolle also played briefly with the LG Sakers in South Korea during the 2011 NBA lockout and has also played with Santurce of the Puerto Rican League.

Since graduating from Louisiana Tech in 2010, Rolle was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and spent time with the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. He also spent a season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Developmental League.

Rolle was an integral member of the Bahamas’ gold medal winning CBC championship team in July 2014. For the tournament, he averaged 13.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He joined the team once again the following summer when they finished with a silver medal.

The Japanese NBL includes 12 teams divided into the Eastern and Western Leagues.

Each team plays a 54-game schedule and the top four teams advance to the playoffs in May.

The league takes the place of the defunct Japanese Basketball League, but failed to merge with the lower level BJ-League.

The new NBL introduces several new rule changes, including a salary cap of $150 million per team and a limit of two import players allowed on the floor simultaneously during the first and third quarters.

Ten NBL coaches are from outside of Japan, including former NBA coaches Bob Hill and Bill Cartwright. Just one former JBL player has advanced to play in the NBA, Yuta Tabuse, who had a brief stint with the Suns in 2004-2005.

The JBDL is a second-tier league below the J-NBL and was formed in 2013 as the successor of JBL2, the second division of the former Japan Basketball League.

At the end of the 2015-16 season, the JBDL will merge with the NBL and its rival the bj-league to form the B-League.