K.J. Matsui has grown up eating noodles with a loud slurp -- to him, food not only tasted good, it sounded good. However, only a few months into his new life as a basketball player at Montrose Christian School, Matsui received a simple instruction as Coach Stu Vetter listened to each forkful of spaghetti and meatballs."You can't do that in America," Vetter said.
There are plenty of differences between the cultures, but Matsui and teammate Taishi Ito appear to have made the transformation just fine. They maintain some of their traditions, such as taking off their shoes before entering their bedrooms, but also have embraced many American norms. And they have excelled on the court, where the duo hopes to make history by becoming the first Japanese players to play Division I college basketball.
Montrose Christian's K.J. Matsui, left, and Taishi Ito form the starting back court for the No. 1-ranked team in the area. "I emphasize to everybody, they're not good Japanese basketball players; they're simply good basketball players," said Coach Stu Vetter, whose Mustangs are 6-0. "Some people stereotype things. I don't take offense," Matsui said.
(Photos Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)
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Matsui, a senior shooting guard, is being recruited by several Ivy League schools, including Princeton, Vetter said. Ito, a junior point guard, hopes to play for an ACC school, a goal that Vetter thinks is attainable. Together, the players make up the starting back court for a team ranked No. 1 by The Post and considered to be one of the nation's premier programs.
In his 28-year career, Vetter has coached players from all over the world, but he said he never thought that a series of clinics for Nike in the Far East five years ago would pay this kind of dividend.
"You just get a general sense that people are surprised [about Matsui and Ito], obviously because it is somewhat unique," said Vetter, whose team has started the season 6-0. "There aren't many Japanese players in this country. But it doesn't take people long to realize that they're very talented."
The group of converts includes teammates as well as college coaches.
"Maybe if [college coaches] did not know about me and Taishi and they just walked into the gym and saw two Asian guys playing . . . they'd probably be surprised, [saying] 'What are these Asian guys doing?' " Matsui said. "Some people stereotype things. I don't take offense. I get used to it."
Said Vetter, who expects to have a 6-foot-4 Japanese freshman at school next year: "I emphasize to everybody, they're not good Japanese basketball players; they're simply good basketball players. And I think more and more people are seeing that now."
Including the Mustangs' other players, who say that Matsui and Ito blend in nicely. On the court, they clearly are the team's leaders, shouting instructions and calling out plays; they seldom come out of the game unless a victory is in hand. The two use the slang preferred by other players and sometimes dress in baggy clothes. Matusi said that if he is watching something other than a basketball game on television, he usually tunes to MTV or BET.
One teammate says they are "close to being brothers." The two recently were featured in Slam, a basketball magazine .
"Just like one of the boys," said Montrose forward Jourdan Morris, who transferred this summer from Eleanor Roosevelt.
Although Morris had met Ito two years ago, he first met Matsui this past summer while working out with the team. The 6-3 Matsui threw a ball high in the air, ran up to it as it bounced and then caught and dunked the ball in one motion.
"How many Asians do you see dunking?" Morris said. "I thought they were going to be a pair of shooters. . . . I didn't think they would be as athletic as American players. They're good."
Both have shown remarkable development since their eighth-grade years, when each moved to the United States to enroll at Montrose. Although Matsui and Ito had been playing for several years in Japan, their ability paled in comparison with Americans their age. Basketball courts are tough to find in Japan, they say, and Matsui and his father, Keita, often took a 10-minute bike ride in Tokyo to a park that had one basket.
