2024 center holds Iowa offer
JT Rock, a 7-foot 2024 center from Sioux Falls (SD) Lincoln, who is ranked as the #1 player in the state in his class, views Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki as players he tries to emulate. Sioux Falls Jefferson fans will reluctantly agree that Rock has patterned his game off to strong choices after he made a deep three-pointer at the buzzer for a 69-68 victory to defeat Jefferson in the Class AA basketball state tournament in March.
Rock finished with 22 points on eight of 13 shooting in the game and that type of performance has earned him offers from four Big Ten schools already, including one from Iowa last fall. He earned an offer from Minnesota last week to go along with previous offers from Wisconsin and Purdue.
Hawkeye Report recently caught up with Rock at the Great Plains Alliance to learn the latest on his recruitment and upcoming junior campaign.
Rock said that there is a lot to like about Iowa and its use of big men.
“Coach McCaffery, obviously, he was coaching Luka Garza and turned him into a two-time national Player of the Year. His message is a lot of the same that Luka did, to go post up inside, but then still be lethal from the three-point line.”
Rock recently made a visit to an Iowa rival and is hoping to make some additional visits soon.
“We went to Iowa State last weekend and I think later after the live period in July, we are going to try to go to a couple other places in the fall, once it becomes time for official visits.”
Rock made a visit to Iowa City last September to the Hawkeyes season opener versus Indiana.
“I went to Iowa last fall. It was crazy. It was first game back with fans in the stadium, so it was just a really cool environment. The whole campus was a buzz.”
Rock has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, South Dakota State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Creighton. South Dakota State and most recently Minnesota. Most of the schools weren’t in an urban setting until the Gopher offer.
“All the schools try to market themselves as a “college town.” Some of them really are and some of them are like a big town and the college was there first, but the town grew around it so much.”
Rock still has two years of high school basketball left before college, but he admits that he has started an informal pros and cons list.
“Yes. I started thinking a lot about now that I’ve seen all the places, what I liked about each one. What I didn’t like about the school and the coaching staff and the program overall.”
Rock has several top programs recruiting him that will provide an excellent basketball and educational experience. He believes that it’s nice to know that no matter where he lands that he has plenty of great options.
“It’s great to know. It’s very reassuring going through this process that I have a lot of great options, so I don’t think that I’ll be super unhappy with any of them.”
Rock knows that it will be hard to tell the schools “No,” after he has built strong relationships with the coaching staffs.
“I only get one school to say “yes” too, so it’s going to be a tough decision.”
Rock plays for the South Dakota 16-and-under team and will play in Atlanta, Kansas City and Sioux Falls this month. Expect many of the top college programs to make a similar trek.