JT Rock Talks About Gopher Offer
JT Rock, a 7-foot 2024 center from Sioux Falls (SD) Lincoln, is ranked as the #1 player in the state in his class. His inside/outside game has drawn comparisons to NBA stars Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki.
Rock’s strong play this summer has earned him his fourth Big Ten offers, as he recently landed an offer from Minnesota. He had previous offers from Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue.
The Gopher Report recently caught up with Rock at the Great Plains Alliance to learn the latest on his recruitment and upcoming junior campaign.
The Gopher Report: Minnesota recently offered you. I know that Coach Johnson watched you at the MBCA Showcase, What was the reaction when you got that news?
JT Rock: "We were on the way home. We were about an hour into the drive and the phone rang. My mom picked it up, because I was like half asleep, actually, so my mom picked it up and she was like, 'Hello, who is this?' Coach Johnson said 'Hello, can I talk to JT?' and she asked who it was and he said Ben Johnson, head coach of Minnesota. He was talking to me and he said that he really likes my game, not just how I can score, but how I see all sides of the game. Like if I get the ball in the post, doubled up and I look opposite wing and make the skip pass. Playing help defense and being in the right spot. He said that he really loves my game and that I always got a spot at Minnesota, if I want it."
The Gopher Report: I know that was really his first time to see you play and he was impressed with that. Had you been hearing much from Minnesota at all?
Rock: "I hadn’t, actually."
The Gopher Report: I know you are getting a lot of looks still, but I know that you are trying to narrow things down a little bit, just so it’s not overwhelming. You have eight offers (Iowa, Iowa State, South Dakota State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Creighton. South Dakota State and Minnesota) and I know that you visited Purdue when you had a tournament in Indianapolis. Have you gotten a chance to visit some of those other schools that have offered you yet?
Rock: "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 and in the fall, once it comes time for official visits, we’ll get around to that."
The Gopher Report: Before Minnesota offered, a lot of the schools were “college towns,” not bigger metro areas. Is that something that appealed to you or weas that just the way schools had been recruiting you?
Rock: "It’s nice to see. All the schools try to market themselves as a 'college town.' Some of them really are and some of them are, you’re just a big town and the college was there first, but the town grew around I so much."
The Gopher Report: Minnesota, one of the pros is that it is a big city, but some people might look at it as a negative the fact that it’s not smaller like an Ames. Is that something that you have thought about in terms of Minnesota?
Rock: "I thought about it. I understand the campus is connected all to the South. Downtown Minnesota can get a little crazy with the traffic, I’ve heard. Every school is different."
The Gopher Report: I know that it is still early just finishing your sophomore year, have you started to do a pros and cons list of the schools yet?
Rock: "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 then the coaching staff and the program overall."
The Gopher Report: Is it kind of nice to know, to be honest, that no matter where you go, you are probably get a good basketball and educational experience and probably be pretty happy?
Rock: "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."
The Gopher Report: Is it going to be tough, because you have built relationships with some of these coaches and a lot of them you are going to have to say “No” to?
Rock: “I only get one school to say 'yes' too, so it’s going to be a tough decision.”
The Gopher Report: You mentioned Minnesota. Have you spent a lot of time in the Twin Cities at all before?
Rock: "I haven’t, other than a couple of family vacations and a couple of tournaments up there, so not a whole lot."
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