Hoop fans are wondering if the first foreign coach in the Korea Basketball League will return for another season.

The Incheon Electro Land Black Slamer, which is dead last for the second straight year, demoted Jay Humphries this month to team adviser in an unprecedented move less than halfway into the season.

Humphries' new job is to help players in practice and scout talent but he will not attend games.

He recently told the JoongAng Daily in Seoul, however, that the move is temporary and that he will return for the start of the league's third round Sunday.

The Black Slamer had the league's worst record last year and is just 5-19 this year, with Humphries blaming the language barrier and injuries to key players including top star Albert White.

Humphries began his career in South Korea as an assistant coach with the team formerly known as the Wonju TG Xers, who won the championship in the 2003-04 season. He played guard for eleven seasons in the U.S. National Basketball Association.