It’s not often that you see somebody turn down a chance at living in Hawaii to come to Morgantown but that’s exactly what unfolded in the case of Jake Auer.
The fifth-year senior spent four seasons at Rockhurst, a division two school in Kansas City, where he averaged 10.1 points and set the school record for made three-pointers in a single season.
But after his head coach Drew Diener resigned following last season he felt it best to explore his options.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Auer had one season left in his career and wanted to see what would be out there for him if he cast a wide net looking for opportunities elsewhere.
That of course brought forth other opportunities at the Division II level including Hawaii-Hilo where he was strongly considering prior to taking a chance. Auer had played against Tucker DeVries in high school and while the two weren’t necessarily close he took the chance to reach out to him.
The pitch was that Auer could join West Virginia as a walk-on in order to give him a different experience than what he had done through the first four years of his career.
“I played those four years and I was a high-minutes guy and I was honestly ready for a new experience. I reached out to Tucker when I realized he was coming here and said why not do something crazy with this last year,” Auer said.
So, while the appeal of playing a bigger role at the D2 level was there, Auer simply wanted a chance to do something different and kept coming back to that in his decision-making process.
“I thought if I did something else I’d regret this experience,” he said.
It’s been tough at times for Auer as he’s adjusted to his new role, but it’s been easier with the fact that head coach Darian DeVries has helped him to embrace the importance of his role on the team. The senior didn’t take long to buy into what DeVries wants out of his players.
“He lets you play pretty freely and he really hones in on his players' strengths and builds the offense that way,” Auer said.
In practice, Auer has been able to play the role of the opposing team’s best player with the scout and it’s given him a chance to showcase and expand his skill set in the process. He's also had the chance to get into some games and has become a crowd favorite with his ability to knock down three-pointers while even taking on a role in the rotation due to injuries that have mounted on the roster.
Auer also has four years of experience that he can use to help others on the team. It’s also something that he believes is going to help him in his professional career as well by competing at the highest level. He wants to pursue a career in financial advising.
“It’s a role I’ve enjoyed,” he said.
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