| Introduction |
| “ | Basketball is a team sport. Let's all rise together. I hope you shall be kind to me | ” |
—Tomohisa Kurumatani, to Kuzuryū High | ||
Tomohisa Kurumatani (車谷 智久, Kurumatani Tomohisa) is Sora's father and husband of Yuka Kurumatani. Later on in the series, he becomes the Kuzuryū High Basketball team's head coach, primarily the girls' team. In the absence of Sakata-sensei, he serves as an assistant coach for the boys' team.
Appearance[]
Tomohisa is a tall, handsome individual who looks to be around 185 cm. He's always dressed in professional attire, with a white dress shirt, black pants, and shoes. During the basketball practice sessions, he usually wears a white round neck t-shirt with grey trousers and black and white sport sneakers.
Personality[]
Tomohisa is a devoted father, husband, and son-in-law. One who sincerely cares about his family. Although, due to work, being away from his family in Nagano, he would often visit the Kanagawa National Hospital to see his ailing wife. He also kept in touch with his mother-in-law about Sora's wellbeing. Tomohisa is a strict and caring parent who implements discipline at home and school. Hence, once he became the coach of the Kuzuryū High basketball team, he has instructed his son, Sora, whenever both meet each other at Kuzuryū High, to keep their relationship professional, meaning he is a teacher at school and Sora as a student. Tomohisa is also a very polite individual when speaking to others. Upon finishing his conversation, he bows down to show his appreciation, especially to his basketball players for their hard work, each of them displayed during his practice sessions.
When on the court, his demeanor is very different; he is a strict coach. Similar to his friend Sakamaki, his training sessions are extremely rigorous. He has great observation skills and can identify players' weaknesses very efficiently. Upon becoming the Kuzuryū High basketball team coach, Tomohisa purchased a mini-van to help his team commute during basketball practice matches and regional tournaments.
Biography[]
Tomohisa is from Nagano Prefecture. He is married to Yuka Kurumatani, and both have a son named Sora. For a long time, he had been away from the basketball world, working as a farmer in Nagano. Like his wife, Tomohisa has played basketball at a very high level; however, detailed information about his career as a player has not been revealed in the series.
After his wife's sudden passing, Tomohisa became very concerned about his son Sora and was in two minds whether to move to Kawasaki or not. Tomohisa paid a friendly visit to Kuzuryū High to watch a practice game between Kuzu-High and Tsurugane Technical High and was happy to see his son's progression as a player during the match. At that time, Sora was unaware of his presence, and after the conclusion of the game, he left. The second time he visited the school was during the practice game between Kuzuryū High and Yokohama Enmei Academy. This time, he was accompanied by his good friend Sakamaki, coach of Yokohama Taiei High. Both watched the game and discussed the possibility of him becoming the coach of Kuzuryū High. To fulfill his wife's wishes and under Yohito's influence, he decided to become the team's instructor. While departing, both friends promised to compete against each other as rivals alongside their respective teams in the upcoming Inter-High Tournament.
Tomohisa arrived at Kuzuryū High at a very crucial stage, the boy's basketball team had already been disbanded and was given a second chance to win at least 10 practice matches in regaining their club status. His recruitment on becoming the head coach for the basketball team was met with mixed responses. Those in favor of his employment were only the Kuzu-High Principle, vice-principal, and Satsuki. Meanwhile, other faculty members and teachers, especially the schools' physics teacher, Ozawa, opposed his recruitment. He questioned Kurumatani as to why he decided to join Kuzuryū High and told him there are better institutions in Kawasaki, where his talent as a basketball coach would be of better usage. Tomohisa politely confronted him and informed him that he could understand his point of view as the boys' team has caused many problems in the past. Hence, due to each member's strong personality, he is a bit troubled about leading and guiding them. However, he is excited about that challenge and sees potential in the team, and if taught correctly, they can become something special. On closing his discussion with Ozawa, Tomohisa informed him that he would like to make a wager with him. Under his guidance, he can make the Kuzuryū High boys' and girls' team strong to qualify for the next year's inter-high tournament.
Later on, Tomohisa met with the members of the girls' basketball team. He was delighted and happy to be aquatinted by them. All the members followed his guidance and instructions without any hesitation. Meanwhile, alongside his recruitment, another person named Toshio Sakata joined as the instructor for the boys' basketball team. The two formed a strong rapport with one another. Hence, Tomohisa decided to become the coach of the girls' team primarily. In Sakata's absence, he would then overlook the boys' team as an assistant coach. Sakata, as being the eldest amongst the coaching staff, Tomohisa would often seek his advice and guidance whenever at odds with the boys' team in his absence. Later on in the series, when the boys' basketball team successfully qualified from the Inter-High Preliminaries, Tomohisa then became the head coach for them as well.
Quotes[]
- "I am Kurumatani Tomohisa. Nice to meet you." - To Kuzuryū High (Chapter 176)
- "Ah. So you're Madoka Yabuchi. I've heard a lot about you. Thank you for always looking after our son. And thank you for that time." - to Madoka Yabuchi (Chapter 176)
- "I think you're the closest person she (Yuka) had to a comrade in this place (hospital). It'll be brief... But I'm counting on your cooperation." - to Madoka Yabuchi (Chapter 176)
- "Too slow too slow!! Why are you dragging your feet!! You don't need to dribble!! So you should be running faster!! Run like there's no tomorrow run!!" - to Kuzuryū High (Chapter 178)
- "You can ignore the fouls manager. Forget the clock as well. I'll stop it when I feel like it." - to Kuzuryū High Girls' team manager (Chapter 178)
- "If we can run the whole 40 minutes at this speed. Then we can finally compete at the prefect level." - to himself (Chapter 178)
- "I agree. I'm really troubled though. Especially by the boys team. They attack like crap don't know anything about stamina. Their individual levels are all over the place and the useful ones are too few. I can't begin to think of how to lead them. But you know even so, they're pretty strong. Depending on where they are led from. They could become diamond as easily as ashes. Doesn't that excite you as an educator." - to Ozawa (Chapter 178)
- "Would you like to bet that they'll reach next years Inter-High Tournament." - to Ozawa (Chapter 178)
- "There's nothing more reassuring than having a good manager by your side." - to Nao Nanao (Chapter 189)
Etymology[]
- The name Tomohisa means "wisdom, intellect" (智) (tomo) and "long time" (久) (hisa).
- Tomohisa's surname Kurumatani means "car, vehicle, wheel, carriage" (車) (kuruma) and "valley" (谷) (tani).