One of my favorite places in the United States besides my hometown Boston is San Francisco. I will never forget visiting it in 2015 and spending 3 days there. If I could I would have spent 2-3 weeks there. Just hanging out at the marina and enjoying the view over the bay or visiting filming locations of the Dirty Harry series would fill the time. It would never get old. Not far away from the bay area is a Half Moon Bay which is about a 40 minute drive to San Francisco. Half Moon Bay sits on the pacific ocean and looks like paradise. How could anyone not want to live there? But sometimes guys even want to get out of there. In the case of Jacob Salinero (185-PG-1997, college: Sonoma St.) it was 1000 emails for the love of baseketball. He was his own agent for 2 years and researched leagues overseas with the bible of basketball eurobasket.com and used Instagram to connect with teams. The American is playing his second pro season and first in the German Regionalliga (4th division) for seemingly peanuts, but hey the trek up the basketball ladder to higher leagues isn´t without paying their dues and it isn´t always easy. “I think the biggest thing is truly committing to the process of getting better. I really love basketball and personally I believe playing overseas means you HAVE to love it because you are sacrificing so much. In terms of trying to establish myself and climb the ladder it will always be difficult being that I am 186cm but no one works harder and is more committed than I am to try to be great so I believe that anything is possible and within reach”, stressed Jacob Salinero. Some guys will do anything when they are chasing the basketball dream. “My first year playing in Spain I lived in a house with 15 people so being adaptable I would say is essential to the job but the communities of Lich and Leer have welcomed me with open arms. I believe only about 3-4 people from my hometown have been able to play overseas and the experiences I have each year are part of what makes the journey so special and the adjustment not as difficult as one might think. I am extremely grateful for it all”, stated Jacob Salinero. All in all, he is just blessed to be able to play the game he loves. He didn´t have the greatest stats in the NCAA 2, but still made it across the pond to play. ““I really love what I do and throughout all the ups and downs I always knew this was a possibility, it was just about timing matching up with all the hours I have spent in the gym”, said”, Jacob Salinero”

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber in front of the filming location of Dirty Harry film “the Enforcer “Barber Shop” in the Filmore District, San Francisco

Jacob Salinero who lists Jeremy Lin, Will Cherry and Jaylen Wells as his toughest foes on the court was born on December 2nd, 1997 in Half Moon Bay, California. He attended Half Moon Bay high school and then played at Skyline College (JUCO) from 2016-2019. He had to red shirt one year and in his 2 years there played a total of 55 games averaging 2.1ppg, 1.2rpg, FT: 81.8%, 3PT: 22.2%, FG: 34.7% and 5.9ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 43.5%, 3PT: 34.1%, FT: 66.0%. “Juco was a 8-5 job pretty much. With classes in the morning and team practice in the afternoon and you are at the school the whole day. Additionally everyone is trying to make it out so it cultivates a certain chip on your shoulder. That was the place where I first saw who really loves it and who doesn’t”, remembered Jacob Salinero. Even if he wasn´t a main scoring threat on the squad there, he did grow as a player with the guidance of Justin Piergrossi. “He was huge about playing off of two feet and showing up daily. He had a great quote “How you do anything is how you do everything.” He really cares about his guys and still follows all of us to this day”, commented Jacob Salinero. His basketball career then continued at Sonoma State University (NCAA2) where he played 2 seasons averaging : 6.2ppg, 2.8rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 44.3%, 3PT: 42.1%, FT: 71.4% and 5.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 37.5%, 3PT: 32.0%, FT: 77.8%. He missed one season due to COVID. “I would say Sonoma State was the first time in my college career where I realized how good I could actually be. I give a lot of credit to Coach JJ Santa Cruz for throwing me into the starting lineup against CSU Monterey Bay because from there I really began to grow. My favorite memories though are the late nights shooting in the gym with my former teammates Jaylen Wells, Simon Ramirez, Jackie Luong, and Isaiah Usher. That gym became a sanctuary for us that despite having a losing season we were able to go there and get better. It should be mentioned too that 3 of those guys went on to play professionally so we must have been doing something right”, expressed Jacob Salinero. He made the jump to the NCAA 2 and became a solid role player thanks to head coach Pat Fuscaldo. “He taught me how important it is to enjoy the daily grind or else you can get lost in it. His passion for life is what truly set him apart. He loved coaching at Sonoma State more than anyone”, added Jacob Salinero. He was teammates with 201cm forward Jaylen Wells who proved you can go from the very bottom in 2022 at JUCO to the top via 1 season at Washington State (NCAA) to the NBA in 2024 where he is currently a rookie with the Memphis Grizzlies and averaging 11,6ppg. “I knew after the first few weeks of open gym that he could be a NBA player as it was just so obvious to me. He could dribble, shoot, and pass at 6’8 and he was extremely unselfish and coachable. He’s one of my best friends. We still talk all the time in our group chat with our other Sonoma State teammate Jackie. Jaylen and our teammates used to shoot every night sometimes after coming back from the airport at 1am. Jaylen´s story is super inspirational because I have seen first hand what a NBA player looks like up close and how quickly your life can change in a year. It’s just about continuing to work and show up”, warned Jacob Salinero who remembers beating teammate Michael Smith at 1-1 and is still tied with NBA player Jaylen Wells.

The California native who lists Jaylen Wells, Isaac Davidson, Tommy Nuño, Johannes Lischka and Clayton Ladine as his 5 best teammates of all-time came overseas in 2022 playing in Spain in the fifth division. Last season he made the jump to Germany playing with Kleene Trockenbau Baskets Fortuna Logabirum (Germany-2.Regionalliga) averaging 20.1ppg, 6.2rpg, 7.4apg, 2.6spg. He will never forget what his wake up call was to being overseas. “Just going to the grocery store and not being able to ask for anything was difficult, because I don’t know how to speak the language. That’s usually when you realize you need to hop on Duolingo fast”, laughed Jacob Salinero. This season with the thanks of top German agency Scorer´s First has landed in Lich that is playing in the fourth division called Regionalliga. Lich is having a very successful season competing head to head with the SC Wizards and traditional organization TV Langen for first place in the south-west standings. “The secret to the success has been great coaches and a team that already had a high level of chemistry before I arrived. Many of the players in Lich have played together for almost a decade and at various levels including BBL, Pro A, Pro B so having me being able to come in and add to already tight knit group has been extremely helpful to our success thus far”, said Jacob Salinero. The team has great players like Johanes Lischka, Noah Litzbach and Niclas Bilski. So where does Salinero fit in who is currently averaging 15,1ppg, 7,3rpg, 3,0apg and 2,6spg. “My role on the team is similar to my role at Logabirum which is to use my speed and shifty ball handling skills to create easy scoring opportunities for myself and others as well as pick up full court and keep the other team from running their offense successfully”, said Jacob Salinero. He is very fortunate to be teammates with ex easyCredit BBL player Johannes Lischka who has seen it all in the last 20 years in Germany. “ Johannes has been someone who I have been able to learn from. He has the best midrange I’ve ever seen and has a huge breath of knowledge in the game of basketball. Definitely someone I knew right away would be able to teach me a lot about the in’s and out’s of German Basketball”, stressed Jacob Salinero. I rarely saw Lischka smile on the court as he is like a tiger with that non stop focused look. How can you make him smile? “I am still trying to figure out the answer to that question to this day maybe it’s the 8th wonder of the world. In all seriousness he takes basketball with an incredibly focused approach and that’s likely why he has been so successful in his career”, stated Jacob Salinero. He continues to grow with his game and has received the perfect guidance from experienced coach Rolf Scholtz. “Rolf and Kai have both been instrumental to my success this year and they were a huge reason why I signed to play here. They both played in the Bundesliga and are constantly giving me advice about where I can improve and grow as a player. One of the things they tell me is what higher leagues look for in their point guards and how to make great choices offensively and defensively. They both have done an excellent job in making my transition to Lich as smooth as possible and I can´t say enough how appreciative I am for both of them”, added Jacob Salinero. It is always interesting to get the 2 cents from players how low leagues óverseas compare to division 2 leagues or JUCO. “In my opinion Regio 1. teams could beat a lot of D2 teams just because of how well they move the ball and consistently make correct reads on both ends of the court. Also with the addition of a high level import player on the majority of the teams it’s definitely a jump. I think the athleticism in the states is the real separator and would be the biggest reason as to why the D2 teams would be able to give Regio 1 teams some trouble”, commented Jacob Salinero.

The 185cm guard who lists LeBron, Michael Jordan, Steph, and Wilt on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore and has Lebron James as his GOAT is a player that can compare his game to many NBA players. “I wouldn’t say it’s one player but the three players I have taken the most from would be Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, and Kyrie Irving. Being exceedingly strong for my size and position allows me to guard players much taller than me well. I feel highly confident in my ability to guard in the post and against switches. Offensively utilizing my dribbling skills creatively coupled with my speed grants me the ability to create plays without ball screens and when defenses retreat to prevent drives I feel super comfortable shooting off the dribble or in catch and shoot situations. I’m in the gym everyday”, warned Jacob Salinero. At Skyline and Sonoma State he never averaged more than 6,0ppg in a season, but as a professional is suddenly a walking bucket. “Personally I have always been able to play like this it was more so just that in college I was so afraid to get subbed out or have my teammates get mad at me for making mistakes that I never tried to be aggressive. It wasn’t until I came overseas that I realized that my aggression actually helps the team and makes me 100x better. I think as players and people we all possess unique skills and it is our duty to explore them to the fullest. The best version of yourself is the one that helps the most people”, stressed Jacob Salinero. He is currently filling the stat sheet like a Russell Westbrook, but versatility isn´t his biggest strength “ I would say my biggest strength is being a winner. I don’t mean that literally in terms of winning and losing games but more so just the persistence and grit to do anything in my power to make things happen. A perfect example is what you just said about players that average 6ppg don’t usually play pro but I made it happen. You won’t find a player as dedicated as I am and that skill has carried me into being a versatile asset to the teams I have had the privilege of being a part of”, stated Jacob Salinero. This season he has scored 23 points against Saarlouis and 22 points against Bensheim, but his versatility also lets him shine as a playmaker and defender. “I grew up watching a ton of AND1 street ball and players like the Professor and Skip2MyLou always had an innate flair to passing. The more I began to understand defensive coverages and how defenses respond to dribble penetration I gained the ability of knowing what the defense would do before they did it. Then from there the reads kind of make themselves. I know if I drive from the wing which low guy is supposed to help and now the weak side is open. Combining the creativity of AND1 with conventional basketball knowledge allows me to accurately deliver on time and on target passes to shooters and cutters. I am aggressive on defense yet calculated. I watch a lot of film especially on the guards I am going to play. I’ll watch an entire game film just watching the other player I’m going to be guarding and no one else. I have found that a lot of my steals come from making calculated reads and picking on up tendencies. I want to become a guy at the point guard position that can guard ideally 1-5. Where there is no match up disadvantage defensively and I am always putting my team in good spots with rotations”, warned Jacob Salinero. It will be interesting to observe how the journey overseas of Jacob Salinero will keep progressing. The guy definitely has the right attitude and correct work ethic. I would love to see him make the next step next season in Pro B in Germany. One thing is for sure, no matter how his career goes, he will always have paradise with Half Moon Bay to go home to every summer. No matter the mood, that will always keep him happy.