Darwin Salties sign former NBA Global Academy and American College forward Anyang Garang

The recruit of an NBA Global Academy scholarship recipient could be the key to ‘really igniting’ the Darwin Salties as they look to deepen their squad and play finals.

Darwin Salties new recruit has arrived.

The Darwin Salties have signed six-foot-nine Uganda-born Australian basketballer Anyang Garang as they look to bolster their stocks and go deep into the finals this season.

The 22-year-old forward arrives at the NBL1 North club following recent seasons in the American college basketball system where he has played with Oklahoma Sooners and University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers.

Garang, was lured to the Salties with the help of assistant coach Luke Allen who has a “close relationship” with the athletic forward, having coached him as a junior at Central District Lions in South Australia.

The 2017 NBA Global Academy scholarship recipient was born into a Sudanese family and migrated to Australia from Uganda when he was in his early childhood years.

“It’s been great so far, the boys are really cool, they have welcomed me in really well,” Garang said about joining the Salties.

“It seems like a great program, great bunch of guys out here and I’m excited to get it rolling.”

Garang, who has a seven-foot-two wingspan, arrived back home in Adelaide from America two weeks ago after graduating from College with a communications digital media degree.

Darwin Salties co-captain Jerron Jamerson and coach Matt Flinn with new recruit Anyang Garang.

The versatile, athletic basketballer who can put the ball on floor, shoot it and play as a stretch forward, said he was attracted by the opportunities that could appear from coming to the Top End.

“Obviously NBL1 North is the best comp in Australian right now and I think this is the best place to get better as a player and obviously get to the next level which is the NBL.”

Garang smiled when asked about the weather saying he loved the warmer temperatures in Darwin compared to Adelaide, where he was previously.

“I love the heat so Darwin has been great so far,” he said.

“It’s very warm up here. Compared to Adelaide, it’s much better.”

Salties coach Matt Flinn was excited to have Garang joining the squad as they look to tighten up defensively and fill the void left behind by an injured Nathan Jawai.

“He will certainly give some much added depth to the five spot, he is pretty versatile so we can play him in at the four as well,” Flinn said.

“So really looking forward to his development and we are also going into this with a long-term view with him.

“It’s not just ‘come in for 10 games and see you later’, we are actually going to invest in his development moving forward to try and get him to be the best player he can be.”

Anyang Garang in a Central Districts' men's Premier League basketball team which was the surprise packet of the competition in 2019 with seven players of African descent - all under 21. (L to R) Magok Manning, Lwal Diing, Angok Anyang, Cholesterols Luk, Isaac Atuer, and Dut Bol. Picture Dean Martin

Flinn has been paying strong attention to his side’s defence work in recent weeks.

With the recruit of Garang, who will be guided by teammates including former NBA centre Jawai, it is expected to help the Salties achieve their defensive goals.

“We got a goal where we want to try to keep teams to 80 points a game, 20 points a quarter, and we are yet to achieve that,” Flinn said earlier this week.

“So that has been a big focus for us for the last six weeks I guess is to try and shrink that number that we are giving up.

“Because we know if we do that, it really ignites our side in our own game and that’s what people like to see.

“And we are leading the league in points per possession and leading the league in three points made.

“While that’s fun to watch, the amount that you risk on the offensive end is totally determined by the strength of your defence so we are still trying to find our feet there and get better in that area.”