TAIPEI (Chinese Taipei) - Ryan Rossiter was all over the place in his first game ever playing for Japan at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.

It was clear that he was on his way to a double-double since the first quarter and ended up with 17 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Rossiter's Player Efficiency in that game was at 41, tied for the most among all players in Window 1 of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

With all of the numbers he was stuffing into the stats sheet, it felt a bit weird that he was wearing number 0 on his jersey.

Japan basketball fans might have felt a bit unfamiliar seeing him introduced as "Number 0, Ryan Rossiter". The 30-year-old power forward has played for 7 years in Japan with Utsunomia Brex, back when the team was still named Link Tochigi Brex, and he has only worn the numbers 32 and 22.

Once Rossiter got called up to the national team for the first time, number 32 was already taken by the youngster Avi Schafer. Although an arrangement could've possibly been made between the two, Rossiter decided to wear a different number which also has a special meaning for him.

"Yuta [Tabuse] is basically the reason I'm in Japan," Rossiter said.

Yuta Tabuse is the legendary point guard of Japan, known for donning the number 0 both for his club and the national team. His presence is known throughout the basketball scene as the first Japanese player to ever play in an NBA game. Now 39-years-old, Tabuse helped pave the way for the bright young stars of today like Rui Hachimura, Yuta Watanabe, and Yudai Baba.

His influence on this next generation of the Akatsuki Five continues with Rossiter wearing his number in a memorable debut.

"He's the reason I came over [to Japan] in the first place. I just wanted to honor him, wear his number, make him proud every day, and thank him for everything he's done for me in the past 7 years. I'll just do that with my leadership and my hustle every day."

Rossiter prides himself in his leadership and would most likely make Tabuse proud of his first appearance playing with the Japan national team. Throughout the win over Chinese Taipei, he did everything he felt necessary to help Japan from scoring to verbally keeping his teammates focused.

"I think leadership is one of my strengths," he said. "I've been in Japan for 7 years. I know the demeanor and the personalities of these guys, and I try to lead on and off the court to keep everyone together. I try to be an extension of the coach's voice on the court and make sure we're on the same page offensively and defensively and get the morale up."

"Sometimes energy gets low, you know. I get everyone going in the same direction. I hope you guys didn't hear anything too bad today," joked Rossiter. "but other than that, it's just kind of my attitude every day."

There were high expectations for Rossiter in this game. There was undoubtedly going to be a comparison between him and Nick Fazekas up to a certain level. Nonetheless, Rossiter has done well to satisfy and even exceed those expectations just by playing his brand of basketball.

Coach Julio Lamas and Yuki Togashi had commented ahead of Window 1 that Rossiter was a player that "has a high basketball IQ and can contribute in the various area," as reported by Japan Times.

"I'm not the strongest guy. I'm not the fastest. I'm not the tallest," Rossiter said, adding on to the evaluation of his game. "So I try to make up for being a solid, all-around player, and build success with the ball, without the ball."

Ryan Rossiter has done just that so far in his first game for the Akatsuki Five. By doing so, he's doing well to represent those who have worn the number 0 jersey of the national team before him - especially his beloved teammate Tabuse.

FIBA