Not a Cinderella

 The Story of Jack Gohlke

He's not your typical man to make a standout, but Jack Gohlke, the shooting guard for the university of Oakland, single-handedly upset the number 3 Kentucky Wildcats. This was Jack's first year at this university, as he played 5 years at Hillsdale university. He has always worked as an uber driver, as after his stupendous game against Kentucky, fans on social media would explain how they remember him being their uber driver from late night parties or bar runs. Gohlke has always been committed to the game, but also himself. He had said after the game against Kentucky that he never had a doubt that they would win, as even though he won't play in the NBA, he knew he could still compete with those guys. This is where he explains that him and his team are, "Not a Cinderella."

The Game Itself

Jack Gohlke and his team obviously came in as the underdogs against the powerhouse of the Kentucky Wildcats. The game seemed to start of slow for the Wildcats, meanwhile Jack was draining three-pointers left and right. Jack ended up having 7 three's in the first half, and 3 in the second. He was just one short from breaking an NCAA record. Jack's performance forever will be etched into the purpose of exhilaration in March Madness. The fallout overnight after this game was typical. Jack received thousands of new followers in Instagram, and even some celebrities. He was a national television hit, being featured on many different channels for his pop out game. He was said to receive over 800 texts that night, along with NIL deals and autograph requests. 

"All this attention it's really cool, don't get me wrong, but its definitely weird for me," said Gohlke.

Behind the Scenes

What isn't weird for Gohlke is that he noticeably has a swagger to him, but he also has put up thousands of hours of relentless work in the gym. Maybe the only people who are not surprised about the 6'3 guard hitting tons of three-pointers each game are the ones who have watched him continuously through this season and even in high school. This type of shot has always been Gohlke's thing, as this season he took over 300 three-point attempts, while only taking 8 two pointers the entire season. After the game against Kentucky, Jack's old coach at Hillsdale, Keven Bradley, had a response of, "Of course." 

The Hillsdale coach continued on and stated, "You watch the shots he took and made, for 99% of college basketball players, those are bad shots, shots you don’t want your guys taking. I mean this from the bottom of my heart, every single one of those shots he took and made are shots that he religiously practices every single day.”

Apparently it has always been this way, even since high school. Michael Basile, Gohlke's high school coach, saw a timid player evolve into a strong force as he had finally found the shot he loved to work for. 

Basile commented, "Anyone that knows Jack well, we’ve seen these performances, just never against a blue blood. The only shocking thing was the national stage." 

What Jack did to the Wildcats wasn't a surprise to the Oakland fans, as he has done that all year for the team. Guess the attendance that night: 117 people. Yet the size of the crowd didn't impact Gohlke, but what did was the sound of the opposing fans when he had received the ball.

Moving Forward

After the huge upset against Kentucky, Jack and his team have the chance to do it again against NC State. The Wolfpack had just upset the number 6 Texas Tech Red raiders. It will most definitely be a game that many will tune into, especially for the new March Madness star, Jack Gohlke. The Oakland basketball team had already destroyed most brackets created for this March, can they do it again against the NC State Wolfpack? The Wolfpack have big assignments to obtain in their upcoming game against this team, as they have to shut down Gohlke from three, along with Oakland's power force of Trey Thompson, as he put up 17 points against Kentucky. Who do you have to win this matchup, does your bracket remain perfect, or will it continue to be destroyed by Oakland University, the team that no one knew of.