PITTSBURGH — March survival is for the dreamers, the big-moment seekers, the heroes who slash toward the basket and aren’t afraid to challenge above the rim.
March staying power — both in this year’s NCAA Tournament and tournament lore — can come from behind the 3-point line, too. That’s where Oakland’s Jack Gohlke lives and operates, and that’s where Gohlke thrived while leading the No. 14 seed Grizzlies to an 80-76 upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky on Thursday night. Gohlke had 32 points on 10 3-pointers, just one short of the tournament record. He shot off the bounce, often from 2 or 3 feet behind the line and even banked in his seventh of the first half.
By then, he’d already become a story. By the end, he’d become one of those stars fans won’t forget — and never saw coming. Oakland’s program had won one NCAA Tournament game before Thursday, a play-in game as a No. 16 seed in 2005. Its second came on a night a high-powered Kentucky team couldn’t keep up with Gohlke.
“I probably forced one or two that I shouldn’t have taken,” Gohlke said. “But I’m always looking for the next play. I’m mad if I miss one, but I’m just focused on the next shot.”
The makes kept coming for Gohlke, a Division II transfer who didn’t start but never left the floor once he entered the game. And then he never actually got back to the locker room to shower until he was practically dragged there because so many people had lined up — and in some cases, crawled over seats — to greet him.
“He might have just made himself a March Madness cult hero,” Oakland forward Tuburu Naivalurua said. “Especially because he looks like a high school history teacher. Everyone loves someone who looks relatable and can do crazy things.”
Survive & Advance pic.twitter.com/w2GF59UmbI
— Oakland Men’s Basketball (@OaklandMBB) March 22, 2024
Gohlke came in with not much of a profile and 500 or so Instagram followers, but he did have arguably the tournament’s most interesting stat line. He attempted 327 3-pointers from November through the Horizon League Tournament. He attempted eight shots from inside the arc.
Yep, just eight. He’d gone 121-for-327 on 3-pointers and 4-for-8 on tries inside the arc. So any opposing scouting report had to start with Gohlke operating under the greenest of lights, seeking deep looks and continuing to fire even if Gohlke didn’t immediately catch fire. A couple of times, Kentucky lost Gohlke in transition or via a quick screen. At other times, Gohlke maneuvered around bigger and faster defenders and flung it up even if he wasn’t fully open.
“I’ll shoot it from anywhere,” Gohlke said. “You probably saw that during the game.”
Gohlke said Oakland showed up believing it belonged, not that it was just happy to keep playing and hang around if a bunch of things went its way. Fifteen made 3-pointers later, Gohlke and the Grizzlies were on to Saturday’s round of 32 with an even bigger stage awaiting.
“Obviously, we come in (and) we’re the underdog by all measures,” Gohlke said. “But as a player, you can’t think that way. You’ve got to go out there and think you have the same talent level as them. I know they have draft picks and I know I’m not going to the NBA, but I know on any given night I can compete with those guys and our team can. That’s why I say we’re not a Cinderella because when we play our A-game, we can be the best team on the floor.”
After going 10-for-20 and headlining the biggest upset of the tournament’s first day, Gohlke was doing a series of interviews in the PPG Paints Arena tunnel while his teammates sat in the locker room on their phones, giggling as they watched Gohlke’s follower count climb in real time; it was over 7,500 just before midnight. Some Oakland players who had left the locker room were summoned back because “Good Morning America” wanted the team to give, as the show’s name suggests, a good morning to America. But the camera folks weren’t really interested in doing the shoot without Gohlke, who was still in his uniform shorts when he went back to the court to greet his family and the remaining Oakland fans. He ended up posing for selfies and signing autographs for probably 45 minutes.
His teammates woke up Horizon League champions excited to play within driving distance of Oakland’s campus in suburban Detroit and ended the night promising NCAA Tournament staffers that they’d film a short for “Good Morning America” as long as they could get some dinner first.
“Jack’s a celebrity now,” said Trey Townsend, Oakland’s leading scorer.
Gohlke spent five seasons at Division II Hillsdale in Michigan, and in 2022 he was part of a team that qualified for the D-II Elite Eight. Though he shot better than 40 percent on 3-point tries over his last two seasons at Hillsdale, he was just a 25 percent shooter in his first two active seasons after taking a redshirt in the 2018-19 campaign. Clearly, some serious work went into his path from D-II backup to March Madness super sub — and superhero.
“Once I got to Hillsdale, the Division II level, I was very focused on just being the best Hillsdale player I could be,” Gohlke said. “I didn’t know I was (eventually) going to have extra eligibility or anything like that. So when I was in the gym, I was focused on big moments in the Division II tournament. And luckily I was able to do that with my teammates at Hillsdale. Shoutout to them. And then I was lucky enough to get an extra year and join a terrific program.
“Obviously, as a kid, (the NCAA Tournament) was always a dream. Once I started college, it wasn’t as much. But I’m happy it’s materializing right now.”
Gohlke entered the game with 15:55 left in the first half. He shot a 3-pointer from the left wing the first time Oakland had the ball after he entered. It missed. He shot again on the next trip, from about the same place, and he missed. It was then he was just a substitute, a grad student, the designated gunner.
Life began to change five possessions later. Gohlke made one from well beyond the 3-point line, then he made another. His first two were assisted by Rocket Watts, who clearly was looking for Gohlke as soon as he crossed half court. Soon, every player in a black jersey started looking for Gohlke — and Gohlke was looking to shoot.
“Jack will shoot it from anywhere,” Watts said. “He’s put in a lot of work. What he did tonight might be surprising to the world, but it’s not surprising to us.”
In Gohlke’s first 6:55 of game action, he shot eight times and made five of them. Three of the first five makes came from almost the same spot on the left wing. That’s where Gohlke finished his pregame warmup routine. And that’s where he got his last make, one that came not long after he’d forced one from the right side. The rebound was tipped around and landed in the hands of DQ Cole, who smartly found the game’s best shooter floating back to his favorite spot.
That made it 67-62 with 4:43 left. A little over a minute later, Gohlke pushed the lead to six when he made two of three free throws. On a night when Gohlke starred, it was Cole who made Oakland’s first 3-pointer and its last, a dagger from the corner with 37 seconds left to put the Grizzlies up 78-74. For Oakland, all heroes were welcome — and all were necessary, too.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe told reporters Wednesday that a win over Kentucky would be “life changing” for his players. In the aftermath, Kampe essentially said that he wasn’t seeing the future as much as he was seeing a team that believed in its plan, its players and the magic that might come if the shots started to drop. Gohlke kept making them, Cole and Townsend also reached double figures and Kentucky’s massive size advantage was negated by the energy the Wildcats spent unsuccessfully chasing Gohlke.
“These guys are going to be back for a 10-year anniversary, a 20-year anniversary, a 30-year anniversary. They’re now the team,” Kampe said. “Jack Gohlke, somebody said (he’s) a celebrity, and that’s what we’ve talked about.
“Once we knew we had won a (conference championship) ring, the whole banter in the locker room has been, ‘What’s it going to say on that ring? Just Horizon League champ? NCAA? Sweet 16? Final Four?’ I’ve put that thought in their mind, and they’ve really battled for it, and they understand that their life got changed tonight, but it could get changed a hell of a lot more if we keep this thing going.”
The Grizzlies play NC State on Saturday. Folks everywhere will tune in to see Gohlke, the guy who will shoot it from anywhere — and gets at least one more crack at pushing Oakland to new heights.
(Top photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
