Jack Salt

Jack Matthew Cooper Salt (born 11 February 1996) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Canterbury Rams of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for the Virginia Cavaliers, where he was a member of their 2019 national championship team. Salt has also been a member of the New Zealand national team in various FIBA competitions.

Jack Salt
Salt playing for Virginia in February 2019
No. 33 – Canterbury Rams
PositionCentre
LeagueNew Zealand NBL
Personal information
Born (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996
London, England
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestlake Boys
(Auckland, New Zealand)
CollegeVirginia (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013Super City Rangers
2013–2014New Zealand Breakers
2014Waikato Pistons
2020–presentCanterbury Rams
Career highlights and awards
  • NCAA champion (2019)

Early life and career

Born in London, England, Salt grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, where he had a distinguished career at Westlake Boys High School. In 2013, Salt debuted in the New Zealand NBL for the Super City Rangers, averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 14 games.[1] After a stint as a development player with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian NBL during the 2013–14 season,[2] Salt played for the Waikato Pistons during the 2014 New Zealand NBL season, averaging 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in nine games.[1]

College career

In 2013, Salt signed with coach Tony Bennett at Virginia to play college basketball.[3] Salt took a redshirt in his first year on campus to gain weight and strength for his debut season in 2015–16. He played sparingly in his redshirt freshman season, but then became a steady rotation player for the Cavaliers for the rest of his career.[4][5]

In Salt's senior season, the Cavaliers began the season still stinging from becoming the first top seed to lose to a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers won a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and were again a number one seed. While playing modest minutes through much of the tournament, Salt played a key role against Purdue in the Elite Eight. Matching up against the Boilermakers' big and physical front line, Salt played 34 minutes and scored 5 points, grabbed eight rebounds and collected a pair of steals to help the Cavaliers to an overtime win and a spot in the Final Four.[6] Virginia then defeated Auburn and Texas Tech in the Final Four to win the school's first NCAA basketball championship. Salt became the first New Zealand native to win an NCAA Division I national championship.[7]

For his Cavaliers career, Salt started in 106 games, averaging 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in a role primarily as a defensive specialist.[8]

Professional career

After not being selected in the 2019 NBA draft, Salt joined the Phoenix Suns 2019 Summer League team.[9] On 26 July 2019, he signed with Trefl Sopot of the Polish Basketball League (PLK), after considering his home country New Zealand Breakers.[10][11] However, he failed to join the team due to liver problems.[12]

On 6 February 2020, Salt signed with the Canterbury Rams for the 2020 New Zealand NBL season.[13] However, a knee injury ruled him out of the six-week competition.[14]

National team career

Salt played for New Zealand's U20 team in 2013–14 and was a member of the senior national team for the 2013 Oceania championships. Salt withdrew from consideration for New Zealand's 2019 FIBA World Cup team, instead focusing on preparing for the 2019–20 season.[15]

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References
  1. "Player statistics for Jack Salt". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. "Jack Salt". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  3. Hinton, Marc (21 September 2013). "Breaker Jack Salt off to US college - reports". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. Barber, Mike (8 March 2019). "UVA's Jack Salt has found a 'second home' in basketball-loving Charlottesville". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. Wood, Norm (8 March 2019). "From New Zealand to Charlottesville: Jack Salt has become indispensable to U.Va". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. Barber, Mike (30 March 2019). "FINAL FOUR: Virginia defeats Purdue in overtime thriller, is headed to Minneapolis". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  7. "Kiwi Jack Salt an NCAA champion as Virginia beats Texas Tech in final". Stuff.co.nz. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  8. Darney, Caroline (8 March 2019). "As Jack Salt plays in his last home game, the redshirt senior has already left his legacy on Virginia Basketball". SB Nation. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  9. Shifflett, John (27 June 2019). "Former Virginia center Jack Salt will play for Phoenix Suns in upcoming NBA Summer League". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  10. "Kiwi NCAA champion Jack Salt signs to play first professional season in Poland". Stuff.co.nz. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. "Mistrz NCAA w Treflu Sopot". Trefl Sopot (in Polish). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  12. Wasiek, Karol (23 October 2019). "EBL. Nana Foulland - co za center! Trefl Sopot trafił w dziesiątkę". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. "The Canterbury Rams Announce The Signing Of Jack Salt For The 2020 Sal's NBL Season". canterburyrams.basketball. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. "Jack Salt is out of the NBL Showdown after injuring his..." twitter.com/NZ_hoops. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  15. Francis, Ben (17 June 2019). "Tall Blacks: Basketball NZ confirms Steven Adams won't play at World Cup". Newshub. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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