Off the court, high school basketball standout proves worthy role model

After Matt and Paige Rock moved off an acreage and into Sioux Falls two years ago, Paige Rock posted a plaque above the stairwell. It would serve, she thought, as a reminder to their four children — and the adults who saw it — about the best way to live their lives.

“I just wanted to remind them that some kids are smarter than you are, some are better at athletic events, some are better singers, but you can be nice,” Rock said. “It’s good for kids and adults to see. We just should treat each other with kindness.”

Her oldest son, JT Rock, walks under the plaque frequently as he climbs up and down the stairs. But this junior at Lincoln High School somehow absorbed the wisdom it imparts much earlier in his life. It seems JT has followed those tenets, quietly for the most part, his whole life, a doer more than a talker. Certainly not one to promote himself.

It’s up to others to notice JT’s actions and to share them.

That happened early this school year. Jeff Riley was attending a girls volleyball game, Lincoln against Jefferson. It was a competitive game, with the Lincoln Patriots threatening in the fifth set. In the end, the Jefferson Cavaliers won 15-12 and disappointed Lincoln students tumbled from the bleachers and headed out when the last point was scored.

Except for JT, who cleared away the concession-stand debris that had been left behind.

Riley recognized JT. At 7-foot-1, JT is hard to miss. He’s also a standout basketball player. Riley, who follows Lincoln sports, had another reason to recognize JT and to good-naturedly root against him.

“For one, he beat us on a buzzer beater in the state tournament last year,” Riley wrote in a Facebook post after the game. He was referring to the consolation championship game in the State AAA Basketball Tournament last March, Patriots against the Cavaliers. Final score: 69-68.

He’s willing to look beyond that, however, at least until Jefferson and Lincoln face off on the basketball court again. Because JT’s actions off the court left an indelible impression.

“He picked up every single kid’s trash in the whole Lincoln High School section,” Riley wrote. “The bleachers were clean. Kudos to this kid … he’s gained a ton of respect (from) me. His parents, family and school should be proud.”

JT remembers the evening. It was getting late, and he and his friends were eager to head home. He remembered he’d left a water bottle in the stands and returned to pick it up. Then, he noticed the other debris.

“I thought, I’m already here, I might as well grab the other stuff. It would leave behind a good impression that our student section was cleaned up after I was there,” JT said. “I guess I’m the one who was caught doing it, but people do nice things like that all the time.”

JT’s student section has branded itself the Lincoln Crazies. They take pride is showing up in great numbers at school events, being loud in their support but also respectful.

Since then, the Lincoln Crazies have made a group effort to clean up their section when a game has ended.

“We’re really all a team,” JT said. “We go to the same school; we figure we might as well do it together. I’ve seen how the custodians are there many hours after school each night, and with sporting events it adds to that.”

JT himself will spend long hours at the school when basketball practice begins after the Thanksgiving break. For him, basketball began in elementary school, first on traveling teams. School sports started as a seventh grader at Harrisburg North Middle School.

His freshman year at Lincoln, pocked with the uncertainties of COVID, found him playing on the sophomore team for the season’s first half with some JV games. Toward the second half of that season, JT started getting playing time on the varsity team.

A freshman playing on the varsity team sparked interest among fans and fellow players, JT thinks.

“I felt like me being on the court freshman year brought a lot of energy to the games,” the center said. “Like, I’d block a shot or make a shot or something like that, I’d notice the energy in the gym would just rise. Even if I just went to check in, I’d just hear the student section chant back and forth.”

His sophomore year, JT started varsity every game.

Despite that schedule, he also found time to watch other teams. Last December, he saw the University of Iowa Hawkeyes play Colorado State. Sitting in the stands, turning to check out the crowd, he noticed a fellow fan seated one row back.

It was Charlie Weerheim, son of Tom and Emily Weerheim of Sioux Falls, then 5 years old.

“He kept turning around, trying to give Charlie high fives, get his attention, but Charlie was being bashful,” Emily Weerheim said.

JT found a way to break through the barrier of bashfulness.

“He was wearing a Luka Garza (Hawkeyes) jersey, and I was like, hey, that’s cool, I’ve met Luka Garza,” TJ said. “His eyes lit up —wow, you’ve met Luka. I said, hey, I’ve got a picture of me with Luka.”

“They were sharing popcorn at the end of the game,” Paige Rock said. “Well, Charlie was sharing his popcorn at the end of the game.”

JT won over Charlie. But it was more by JT’s kindness than his connections.

Charlie now considers JT a best friend. He has watched JT play basketball and run track, and JT showed up at one of Charlie’s practices. Charlie has tried sports as varied as a backyard hockey rink to cross-country to swimming to, of course, basketball. He now lists that sport among his favorite three, including baseball and football.

Charlie has shared special messages with his mother that she in turn has passed on to JT.

“JT is such a genuine nice person. He goes out of his way for Charlie,” Emily Weerheim said. “After the game, he feels bad if he doesn’t get a chance to say hi to Charlie, when he should be celebrating with his team. He’s so good with younger kids.”

After one game, Tom Weerheim said, JT spoke to his family first and then Charlie before going over to greet the coaches who had come to see him play. Not surprisingly, multiple colleges have shown interest in JT. According to online chatter, that includes South Dakota State University, Iowa State, Creighton University, Wisconsin, Purdue and Nebraska.

For JT, the best-case situation is that he first plays ball at the collegiate level. If he’s fortunate enough, that could lead to playing professionally, he said. With a degree in education — or maybe business — he could make enough money playing basketball to return and teach and coach at the high school level.

First, though, comes high school and family life. JT is the oldest of four Rock siblings — followed by Ethan, 12, Jordan, 10, and Evie, who turns 8 in November. Lucky enough to have role models when he was growing up, JT knows that’s the role he now plays for others. That’s one reason he has returned to his former elementary school to read to the students.

“Friday night out at a football game, I’ll have younger kids recognize me, oh, is that JT Rock?” he said. “It’s kind of cool to be that guy that so many kids look up to and they want to be like me. I just want to set a good example for them, just show them how to be the nice person, to bring it full circle.”