Who is March Madness' newest hero, Jack Gohlke?
Every year, an unlikely star emerges during the NCAA Tournament, and it took roughly nine games to identify who that is in 2024.
His name is Jack Gohlke, and the sharpshooter from No. 14 Oakland turned in one of the most incredible performances in tournament history to help upset No. 3 Kentucky. The Wisconsin native canned 10 triples against the Wildcats to give the Grizzlies their second NCAA tourney win in program history.
Here's a little bit more on college basketball's newest folk hero.
It's his sixth season of college basketball
Gohlke is actually 24 years old and a sixth-year senior doing his MBA, but it's his first season at Oakland. He spent the first five years of his collegiate career at Hillsdale in Division II. While it's easy to expect him to have lit up the lower leagues, he didn't score in double-digits until his final season with the program.
He doesn't shoot 2-pointers
No, seriously. Gohlke is essentially only on the court to take shots from deep and has no interest in any other scoring method. Entering the game against Kentucky, Gohlke ranked second in the nation with 327 attempted shots from 3-point range this season but only eight from inside the arc. He took 20 shots against the Wildcats with every single one coming from deep.
Gohlke ONLY shoots 3's 😤 pic.twitter.com/vdk2duZWC0
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2024
He's hit 10 triples in a game before
Thursday's performance was certainly the biggest of his career given the stage, but it's not the first time he's hit double-digit triples this year. Gohlke exploded for 10 triples in only 24 minutes in a blowout win of IUPUI in February. He also accomplished the feat once in his final season at Hillsdale. He became just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to hit at least 10 3-pointers in a single game.
He likes pineapple and Paul Pierce
According to his program bio, Gohlke's favorite road trip snack is pineapple and his favorite basketball player is Paul Pierce. The man nicknamed "The Truth" had some incredible shooting performances of his own but never hit more than eight in a contest during his illustrious career.