AAU basketball

Usually, a broken hand would be a total bummer for a young basketball player at this time of the year. 

But, 12-year-old Kent Rau III thinks a little good has come from his accident. 

Rau is a sixth grader at Troy R3 School. Troy is a basketball-crazy town located in Lincoln County, which is northeast of St. Louis.

He was a member of the 11-and-under St. Louis Panther basketball team that advanced to the national AAU tournament in Florida last year. 

This year, he’s hoping he can have as much success in 12-and-under AAU competition. 

But, first, he had to recover from his broken right hand. He suffered the injury in a basketball game last December. He had a hard cast on for three weeks and then a soft cast for another two. 

He’s just getting back into competition now. But, there’s a couple months before the AAU tournaments start. The national finals aren’t until July. 

The break forced him to sit out of game competition in December and  January. But, it didn’t keep him from practicing--with his left hand. 

Kent is right-handed. He said, “The break should make my left hand stronger. I’ve been practicing hard at dribbling and shooting with my left hand.”

Troy, Missouri, is a good town for a kid who likes basketball. 

The high school has been a power in Missouri small-school basketball for years. The elementary and middle schools all have teams. In Troy, they’re called “feeder teams” because the goal is to “feed” players into the high school system. 

Kent’s family also is sports oriented. During the day, his father, Kent, Jr., is a technical coordinator for research operations for Pharmacia, Inc. 

But, after work, he’s a coach for Troy “feeder teams” and also coaches the high school varsity players during summer league play. 

Kent III credits his dad and Troy High coach, Mitch Wilkins, for his interest in the sport.

Also, Kent III has some ready-made competition in his own family. This 11-year-old brother, Kalen, is a strong soccer player. The boys take turns opposing each other one-on-one in basketball and soccer. 

Kent III said he likes the brotherly competition because his brother is very fast. 

That’s one of the things Kent found out about national AAU competition last year. The top young players from across the country are fast, strong and have excellent skills. 

Despite the higher level of competition, the St. Louis Panthers did well in the 2000 tournament. There were 86 teams in the nine-day Florida tournament. 

The Panthers won their preliminary round and finished 14th overall.

Kent got a special invitation to join the Panthers for their trip to the nationals. The Panthers traditionally are a local AAU power. Kent played against the Panthers locally. Afterwards, Panthers coaches asked Kent to join them for their trip to the nationals. 

Kent came away from the tournament with one unusual record. In a game against a New Jersey team, Kent set a tourney record by making six 3-point shots in a single quarter. 

It wasn’t enough. The Panthers rallied from 18 points down. But, they lost by three. 

This year, Kent is playing for his 6th grade team and also with an AAU team made up mostly of players from St. Charles County. The AAU team features a center who is 6’3”. 

Kent is 5’2” now but has hopes of getting taller. His grandfather on his mother’s side is 6’5”. 

But, he’s concentrating on playing guard. And he’s working hard to become faster and stronger and improve his skills.

He has a weighted vest he wears in practice. And he does lots of pushups to add strength. 

To increase his speed, he does sprints in the basement, jumps rope and competes against his brother. Their one-on-one soccer adds to both his foot-speed and agility. 

And, then, there’s the help from the broken hand.