• Slug: Sports-Jack Gohlke Journey, 1,575 words.
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By Dylan Ackermann
Cronkite News

TACOMA – Jack Gohlke’s journey since he drilled 10 3-point shots to lead 14th seeded Oakland University to a Cinderella upset of third-seeded Kentucky in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began as a nationwide tour.

And now it has taken an international turn.

Gohlke’s first stop took place during Final Four festivities in the 3-Point Contest at GCU’s Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix April 4, then he was off to State Farm Stadium in nearby Glendale for the Reese’s NABC All-Star Game the following day.

Next came stops in Indiana and Oklahoma for NBA pre-draft workouts with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by visits to Salt Lake City and then Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s entry in the NBA Summer League.

His most recent domestic stop was in early August at the auxiliary gym at Tacoma Community College in Washington where he took part in the ninth annual Zeke-End Tournament hosted by Isaiah Thomas, the former NBA guard who spent time with 10 teams, including two stints with the Phoenix Suns.

And now Gohlke’s tour is scheduled to pick up next in Podgorica, Montenegro, where he recently signed his first professional contract with Podgorica Bemax Basketball Club – also known as KK Podgorica – which plays in the Prva A Liga, a top-tier professional league based in Montenegro.

“Obviously playing March Madness was so much fun,” Gohlke said. “The biggest stage you could play on. But I’ve been through every stage of a basketball career so far. At this point I’ll play in any gym like this auxiliary gym. Who cares? It’s fun to just come out here, hoop and play basketball.

“As long as the hoop is 10 feet high, it will be a good game.”

Gohlke’s life changed dramatically after tying the NCAA tournament record for most made 3-pointers in a game against the Wildcats. His Instagram following skyrocketed from 500 followers to more than 10,000 overnight, according to Front Office Sports. His now boasts more than 82,500 followers.

Oakland fell in the second round of the tournament, losing in overtime to a North Carolina State team that eventually made it to the Final Four, but Gohlke became a sensation.

Much like Thomas, who vowed to always participate in Zeke-End and other pro-am events “until I can’t move no more,” Gohlke – a huge fan of Thomas and a “massive Celtics fan,” as he mentioned on the Pat McAfee Show – seems determined to follow a similar path.

In the hot auxiliary gym with no air conditioning and only heavy-duty cylinder fans, it was evident that Gohlke is willing to do the work to get there.

On this day he jab steps right and pump fakes to send a defender flying past him, then takes one dribble to his left and nails a 3-point shot. It is nearly identical to the fifth of his 10 3-pointers against Kentucky, the one that came with nine minutes to play in the first half against one of college basketball’s bluebloods.

“It’s really just how my journey has gone,” Gohlke said. “I never had anything handed to me, and I was never the highest touted recruit or anything like that. Now that people do know my name, I don’t want to change how I act. I still want to be the guy that works hard, is humble and appreciates everybody around him because everybody has played a role to help me get to where I’m at.”

Thomas thanked Gohlke for taking part, posting on Instagram, “Appreciate you blessing the event. Keep grindin’ bro. See you next year.”

Wearing his Golden Grizzlies college game shorts with “Not a Cinderella” written across his jersey, Gohlke was one of the few players to thank the referees after the game, saying, “They also are what make the game fun and enjoyable.”

Despite his instant celebrity from March Madness, Gohlke remains humble – perhaps because of his humble hoops background.

Gohlke spent 2018-23 at Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he redshirted his freshman year, then he came off the bench for most of last season at Oakland, which is located in Oakland County, Michigan north of Detroit.

It’s an unlikely path and demonstrates that fame hasn’t gotten to him and probably never will.

“The guy who organized this for us, coach David Choi, he coached me when I played at Hillsdale College,” Gohlke said. “He invited me out here to play and meet all these new guys. I’m playing with a friend from childhood (Grant Basile) that I grew up playing with, a teammate from Hillsdale (Patrick Cartier) and Oakland (Chris Conway, who recently transferred to Washington). It’s awesome. It’s honestly so much fun.”

Choi said Gohlke is a “super intelligent guy,” who worked at college internships in back to back summers.

“He has a small-college mentality with a high-major game,” Choi said. “Even after the game, he was picking up all the empty water bottles. That just shows who he is.”

The great shooting performance on March 21 was “not a Cinderella,” rather it was the result of Gohlke’s hard work and explains why he’s respected by his peers – and why he received a plethora of NIL deals after that performance.

“He’s a blue-collar guy,” Choi said. “Nothing is beneath him. He doesn’t run from the work and is just consistent. The seriousness is always there. It’s kind of like that stay-ready, never-get-ready type of thing. He was always ready for this.”

A 6-foot-3, 215-pound guard, Gohlke attempted 347 of his 355 field goals from 3-point range. His 37.8% shooting from 3-point range last season was enough to convince the Thunder to offer a spot with their team at the NBA Summer League, fulfilling one of his dreams.

And on July 9, Gohlke backed up his assertion about being able to compete against NBA players. After that upset of Kentucky, he acknowledged, “I know I’m not going to the NBA, but I know on any given night I can compete with those types of guys.”

After checking into the game for the first time in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a summer league game, Gohlke needed only a minute to show what he can do.

He caught the ball on the left wing and used his go-to pump fake, causing former Duke center Kyle Filipowski to lose his balance. Gohlke then took one dribble to his left, stepped back, and pump-faked again. As Filipowski left his feet, Gohlke nailed the 3-pointer.

They were his only points of the NBA Summer League. The only other game he appeared in was during the final two minutes of a 102-73 loss against the Miami Heat, where he missed his only field goal attempt.

Still, he was there.

“It’s something I always wanted to do as a kid,” Gohlke said. “But it’s also an experience that you don’t think you’re actually going to get to do. You watch it on TV all the time, but to be part of it meant everything. The best part was I met a bunch of fans out there who wanted to take pictures and get autographs. It means a lot to me knowing I can put a smile on their face.”

On day one of Zeke-End, while his team played at the same time as “Slow Grind” – which included the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero, the San Antonio Spurs’ Malachi Flynn and Thomas in the main gym – the fans in the five rows of plastic bleachers along just one side of the gym’s wall watched him duplicate nearly identical shots to those he made in March Madness.

Whether it was coming off pin-downs, dribble handoffs or cross screens, everything was done with the intention to not only score but to make it as game-like as possible.

“Just look at how serious he takes the Zeke–End,” Choi said. “I send out scouting reports of our opponents from anything I can gather, and he’s digging into all of it, asking questions and following up. He’s taking it super seriously, just as he does with everything that involves the game of basketball.”

Even before the NBA Summer League, Gohlke was aware that his chances of initially landing in the NBA were slim.

“Everyone wants to play in the NBA, and that’s a big goal of mine,” Gohlke said before signing with KK Podgorica. “But I really just want to play at the highest level that I can. I know each season that level is going to be different.

“Like this season, this first season out of college, might not be in the league. I might be overseas in Europe, I might be in the G League, whatever it may be, I just want to make sure I’m getting better every season.

“My dream has always been to play professional basketball and just to be able to say that my job is to play basketball. I’m ready to get back in that groove again of the structure of games, practices, early mornings, all that fun stuff.”

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