Salt Sticking to His Recipe For The Sal’s NBL

Tall Black Jack Salt is going to do what he does best when he hits the floor in Auckland next month, and that is playing his game.

The seven-footer possesses an array of offensive and defensive abilities unlike many at his size but knows that he’s at his most dominant when sticking to his guns.

Salt says his time with the University of Virginia helped him home in on his strengths.

“I grew so much as a player whilst at Virginia thanks to coaching and competition with he had.

“We played in one of the country’s toughest conferences and so that forced me to get clear on where my spots were on offence and where I needed to be on defence.

“I won’t limit myself when on the court or stray away from the game plan, but I know how I can best impact a game and I’ll try stick to that.”

The Westlake Boys’ High School old boy is currently in Auckland working on his craft in the build-up to the Sal’s NBL which starts on 23 June.

Before going into lockdown, he spent time back in Virginia to get himself ready for the pre-pandemic planned season after coming down with glandular fever midway through last year.

The sickness stopped the center from partaking in any physical activity for over five months, which in turn prevented him from playing professionally in Poland.

“Last year was a bit of roller coaster with the high of winning the national championship and the Summer League (NBA), and then from there it sort of went downhill.

“Out of nowhere I just had this constant feeling of dizziness. To make things worse, I wasn’t hungry when going through it all, only it got worse when I didn’t eat.

“I ended up having to choose between the two and I went with the eating, so that set me back as well.

“It wasn’t until January that I got back to a place of being able to work out and since then I’ve been doing what I can to get myself in good shape.

“I’m feeling really good body-wise, but basketball-wise I really need to get back on the court to get my touch and feel back to where it needs to be.”

“I’ve got about a month to get it all right before hitting the floor and I honestly can’t wait.”

The return to Level 2 in the lockdown has allowed for Salt to get his reps up, which he has been doing at the Swish Factory on the North Shore.

He is a sure-fire top pick in the upcoming Sal’s NBL Player Draft, taking place on Thursday 11 June.

Want to register for the draft? Registrations for the Player Draft open on Monday 25 May.

Want to know how the Sal’s NBL Draft will work? Click here.

Related:

https://whatsoninvers.nz/auckland-to-host-2020-sals-nbl-tipping-off-23rd-june/