Recruiting Report: Jacob Rau (2017)
Iowa’s 32nd-ranked 2017, Waukee 6-foot-7 power forward Jacob Rau has been one of the more intriguing bigs in the state for awhile now. And though he’s without an offer to his name, he still has his whole senior season…
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Continue ReadingIowa’s 32nd-ranked 2017, Waukee 6-foot-7 power forward Jacob Rau has been one of the more intriguing bigs in the state for awhile now.
And though he’s without an offer to his name, he still has his whole senior season to showcase himself, and it seems a matter of time before they start rolling in.
“It’s (recruitment) starting to ramp-up, and I have interest from all of the different levels. I have a workout coming up in the next month with Pure Prep, and there will be a lot of coaches there from all of the different levels that will be able to see me.
“A lot of D2s are the ones that are really interested in me, and then a lot of NAIA and D3s have a lot of interest. And I have some small D1 interest,” said Rau, who did not mention specific schools.
A foot injury sustained in June kept Rau out for the latter half of his 17U season, but it did not require surgery and he was just cleared last week. Rau says he should be ready to play with the team by the start of the season.
The talented big says he’s been working to improve his perimeter skill-set, and now considers himself to be a stretch-four — able to score from inside and out.
“I’ve been working on being able to move more on the perimeter and shooting from the outside,” said Rau. “I have a lot more confidence out there and I think Coach (Justin) Ohl has recognized that. And I think I’ll be a lot bigger threat on the perimeter this year and I could help stretch the floor.”
Last season as a junior Rau averaged 13.2 points on 65 percent shooting, and a team-best 7.9 rebounds per game. This year even more will be expected of him.
“My role this year is going to change a lot,” said Rau. “I’ll need to be a bigger leader on the floor. And I might not score a ton of points, but I’ll need to help create open looks for my teammates and get every rebound that I can. I’ll need to communicate with everyone and make sure we all know what we’re doing during games and practices.”
As for his recruitment: he knows this winter will be big for him.
“I’m hoping this year will be a big one. I’m really hoping we can make state this year and really do something as a team,” said Rau. “But my recruitment is also something that I’m really looking forward too, and I want to see my hard work pay off.”