Prospect Spotlight: Jack Groeteke (2021)
An up-and-coming prospect in Iowa’s Class of 2021, Dowling 6-foot-6 wing Jack Groeteke is a guy that possesses not just great height, but a great stroke too.
He was canning 3s at a high rate during Iowa’s Top 250 Expo two weekends ago, now, he’s hoping to continue and make his mark as as one of the sophomore class’s best shooters, among other things.
“I feel like my strong point is my shooting, and I always like to bring my teammates together and get them talking on offense; and I always try and work on my defense, you gotta play defense or else you won’t see the floor,” said Groeteke, who also mentioned ball-handling and his strength as an area he’s working to improve.
This past spring and summer the rangy wing was playing with Beyond Ball 15U, and says he developed into a more versatile player while doing so.
“I was mainly the shooter on that team, and then John (Lamb) took me aside and started trying to get me to become more of a guard, so I started bringing the ball up the court,” said Groeteke. “I really liked playing with them, we got to see competition in Vegas and Ohio and all the places we traveled, instead of just the competition in Iowa.”
Now, he’s got a sophomore season just a month away, and Groeteke says he’ll probably play with the Maroons’ sophomore squad, and maybe the JV. He’s eager to get his chance to one day excel with the varsity.
“Over these offseasons, I’ve been trying to put in the work and effort to show the coaches that I’m trying to be on varsity,” said Groeteke. “I’m just working as hard as I can to show them what I can do, and that I’m there to play and work hard”
Over the course of the next year, Groeteke is hoping to generate some more exposure and to get closer to the ultimate goal of playing college ball.
“I’m looking to get myself out there,” he said. “And in years to come maybe try and get to the college level.”