Louisville at No. 2 Virginia, 4 p.m. ESPN
Passion. Unity. Thankfulness. Servanthood. Humility.
Perhaps no one embodies the five pillars of Virginia basketball quite like Jack Salt, UVa's lone senior day honoree.
Salt is a fifth-year senior who came over from New Zealand, where he played lots of volleyball. To travel halfway across the world, get into a world-class university and play a sport that isn't your first love -- that takes some kind of faith and passion to think outside the box. The coaching staff didn't have much to go on, but thought he'd be a good fit. And he certainly has been.
Salt is the antithesis of a "me-first" player. He's only gotten marginally better with his offensive skills in four years, but his specialties are defense and setting screens on offense, neither of which end with him scoring points. He's all about servanthood and fitting into the entire unit, and he's played that role
brilliantly. He does all the dirty work, whatever it takes, oftentimes giving up his body to dive on the floor for loose balls.
Tony Bennett, of course, loves defense and loves the way Salt plays defense. His effort is tireless on that side of the floor, and he's nearly mastered the art of hands-straight-up-in-the-air defense. We are all very familiar with that move, as he's stonewalled a number of opposing players over the years with the tactic, especially the past couple seasons, by doing that just as they thought they had a clean lane to the basket. The best part is refs began to respect the move and not call as many fouls on Salt, who was a whistle magnet his first couple seasons on the court. I've always thought his volleyball background helped with this technique, as it mimics jumping up to block a ball at the net. My guess is Salt is thankful for defense, the way Bennett teaches it, and for the opportunity to get on the court and play because of it.
And of course the screens. The bone-crunching screens. Who among us hasn't ooohed and ahhhed at a signature Salt pick, ending with a helpless defender lying prone on the court as one of Salt's teammates zooms past? Simply awesome.
If there's one thing Salt has gotten down pat on offense, it's thunderous dunks. He only knows how to do them one way: It's going to be with two hands, and it's going to be powerful. Salt had a handful this season against Maryland when he scored a career-high 12 points. One thing he wasn't able to get down: free throws. They have always been a struggle, but it's reason to celebrate when he makes 1 of 2.
Being humble is one of the toughest pillars to pursue. As humans, we start to feel good and prideful about ourselves when things are going our way. We like to think we have it all figured out. Salt's playing time has been dropping recently, and he's been having some back problems, and these issues have been more pronounced during the stretch run of his senior season, when no doubt, he wants to be playing his best ball. But he hasn't whined. He hasn't complained. He just continues to be Jack Salt, the pillar of the team.
Let Ty Jerome speak to the humble man and player Salt is:
"I think this year, Jack has been asked to do something that not many people are asked to do," Jerome said after the Pittsburgh game last Saturday. "He doesn't know, going into a game, how many minutes he's going to get or if he's even going to take one shot. And his attitude never changes. He'll give 110 percent for us every single possession. And that's something you don't see in almost any other guy in the country. If you ask them to play 30 minutes one game, and five minutes the next, I don't know if any other guy in the country will give you their all. And he does. He continues to lead every day and continues to fight through back pain. He's a warrior, and I'll go to battle with him any day."
Here's to The Big Kiwi and hoping we see some signature Salt moments today. And maybe a made free throw.
To check out Salt's career stats, click here.
To check out HoosPlace.com's tribute to Salt, click here.
To view VirginiaSports.com's Salt video, click here.
Syracuse recap: I took a little bit of a different approach with my recap for UVa's road win over Syracuse on Monday. As 3-pointer after 3-pointer found the bottom of the net for the Cavaliers, I was more and more in shock and disbelief, as was my friend with whom I was texting. To read all of my thoughts and analysis on the 79-53 stomping at Hoos Place, click here.
A look at the ACC standings: Virginia (15-2) can claim the ACC regular-season title outright by beating Louisville and by having Duke (14-3) beat North Carolina (15-2). If UVa and UNC win, Virginia will still be the conference tournament's No. 1 seed but will "share" first place with the Tar Heels (I say hogwash -- Virginia won the head-to-head meeting). If the Cavaliers are upset by the Cardinals, then they will finish second, no matter who wins the rematch on Tobacco Road. Duke would be ahead of UVa if both are 15-3 since the Blue Devils swept the regular-season series, and UNC would be ahead with a better record at 16-2. Louisville is going to finish the regular season in either sixth or seventh place.
Catching up with the Cardinals: Two Saturdays ago, Virginia went into Louisville, and the Cardinals were raining 3s all over the Wahoos in the first half. It looked much like Virginia's second half against Syracuse. But UVa turned a 12-point first-half deficit into an easy 12-point road win, dominating the second half. The Cardinals have gone 1-1 since, losing by seven to Boston College and then beating Notre Dame last Saturday by 14. So they will come into JPJ on a
little more rest than UVa, though the Cavaliers looked pretty relaxed against the Orange. Louisville is 19-11 and 10-7 in the ACC, having lost six of their past nine games. But it should still be safely in the NCAA tournament, and the Cardinals are projected as a No. 7 seed right now in ESPN.com's Bracketology. You have to wonder if that will factor into the potential scrappiness of a Louisville team that can give away leads as fast or faster than it can build them. The Cardinals do not need to be desperate for a big-time resume win. So if Virginia starts to build a sizable lead, Louisville could begin to wave the white flag a little earlier than normal, especially with the psychological edge the 'Hoos seem to have on the Cardinals right now.
Generally, Virginia has played very well on its senior days recently, though it did struggle somewhat last season in a 62-57 victory vs. Notre Dame. The line is all the way up to about 13 as of late Friday night, and that seems maybe slightly high, but could be about right.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 10-15 points.
Passion. Unity. Thankfulness. Servanthood. Humility.
Perhaps no one embodies the five pillars of Virginia basketball quite like Jack Salt, UVa's lone senior day honoree.
Salt is a fifth-year senior who came over from New Zealand, where he played lots of volleyball. To travel halfway across the world, get into a world-class university and play a sport that isn't your first love -- that takes some kind of faith and passion to think outside the box. The coaching staff didn't have much to go on, but thought he'd be a good fit. And he certainly has been.
Salt is the antithesis of a "me-first" player. He's only gotten marginally better with his offensive skills in four years, but his specialties are defense and setting screens on offense, neither of which end with him scoring points. He's all about servanthood and fitting into the entire unit, and he's played that role
 |
| Jack Salt is averaging 3.8 points and 4 rebounds this season. |
Tony Bennett, of course, loves defense and loves the way Salt plays defense. His effort is tireless on that side of the floor, and he's nearly mastered the art of hands-straight-up-in-the-air defense. We are all very familiar with that move, as he's stonewalled a number of opposing players over the years with the tactic, especially the past couple seasons, by doing that just as they thought they had a clean lane to the basket. The best part is refs began to respect the move and not call as many fouls on Salt, who was a whistle magnet his first couple seasons on the court. I've always thought his volleyball background helped with this technique, as it mimics jumping up to block a ball at the net. My guess is Salt is thankful for defense, the way Bennett teaches it, and for the opportunity to get on the court and play because of it.
And of course the screens. The bone-crunching screens. Who among us hasn't ooohed and ahhhed at a signature Salt pick, ending with a helpless defender lying prone on the court as one of Salt's teammates zooms past? Simply awesome.
If there's one thing Salt has gotten down pat on offense, it's thunderous dunks. He only knows how to do them one way: It's going to be with two hands, and it's going to be powerful. Salt had a handful this season against Maryland when he scored a career-high 12 points. One thing he wasn't able to get down: free throws. They have always been a struggle, but it's reason to celebrate when he makes 1 of 2.
Being humble is one of the toughest pillars to pursue. As humans, we start to feel good and prideful about ourselves when things are going our way. We like to think we have it all figured out. Salt's playing time has been dropping recently, and he's been having some back problems, and these issues have been more pronounced during the stretch run of his senior season, when no doubt, he wants to be playing his best ball. But he hasn't whined. He hasn't complained. He just continues to be Jack Salt, the pillar of the team.
Let Ty Jerome speak to the humble man and player Salt is:
"I think this year, Jack has been asked to do something that not many people are asked to do," Jerome said after the Pittsburgh game last Saturday. "He doesn't know, going into a game, how many minutes he's going to get or if he's even going to take one shot. And his attitude never changes. He'll give 110 percent for us every single possession. And that's something you don't see in almost any other guy in the country. If you ask them to play 30 minutes one game, and five minutes the next, I don't know if any other guy in the country will give you their all. And he does. He continues to lead every day and continues to fight through back pain. He's a warrior, and I'll go to battle with him any day."
Here's to The Big Kiwi and hoping we see some signature Salt moments today. And maybe a made free throw.
To check out Salt's career stats, click here.
To check out HoosPlace.com's tribute to Salt, click here.
To view VirginiaSports.com's Salt video, click here.
Syracuse recap: I took a little bit of a different approach with my recap for UVa's road win over Syracuse on Monday. As 3-pointer after 3-pointer found the bottom of the net for the Cavaliers, I was more and more in shock and disbelief, as was my friend with whom I was texting. To read all of my thoughts and analysis on the 79-53 stomping at Hoos Place, click here.
A look at the ACC standings: Virginia (15-2) can claim the ACC regular-season title outright by beating Louisville and by having Duke (14-3) beat North Carolina (15-2). If UVa and UNC win, Virginia will still be the conference tournament's No. 1 seed but will "share" first place with the Tar Heels (I say hogwash -- Virginia won the head-to-head meeting). If the Cavaliers are upset by the Cardinals, then they will finish second, no matter who wins the rematch on Tobacco Road. Duke would be ahead of UVa if both are 15-3 since the Blue Devils swept the regular-season series, and UNC would be ahead with a better record at 16-2. Louisville is going to finish the regular season in either sixth or seventh place.
Catching up with the Cardinals: Two Saturdays ago, Virginia went into Louisville, and the Cardinals were raining 3s all over the Wahoos in the first half. It looked much like Virginia's second half against Syracuse. But UVa turned a 12-point first-half deficit into an easy 12-point road win, dominating the second half. The Cardinals have gone 1-1 since, losing by seven to Boston College and then beating Notre Dame last Saturday by 14. So they will come into JPJ on a
Generally, Virginia has played very well on its senior days recently, though it did struggle somewhat last season in a 62-57 victory vs. Notre Dame. The line is all the way up to about 13 as of late Friday night, and that seems maybe slightly high, but could be about right.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 10-15 points.
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