Meet Jack Goehlke, the first star of March Madness, who only manages to shoot 3-pointers

Meet Jack Goehlke

Kentucky has developed a crazy habit of making opposing players NCAA Tournament folk heroes. Two years ago, it was Doug Edert, St. Peter’s mustachioed sixth man. Last year, it was Marquis Nowell, Kansas State’s 5-foot-8 Mr. New York City.

Thursday night, it was Jack Goehlke, a sharpshooter from Oakland, whose light was the greenest. Goehlke has led Kentucky back to its recent March plight, scoring a game-high 32 points on a barrage of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers to help 14th-seeded Oakland beat the heavily favored Wildcats 80-76. The 10 3-pointers that Goehlke hit were one short of the single-game all-time NCAA Tournament record set by LMU’s Jeff Fryer in 1990.

Not that he was satisfied afterward… Goehlke later told reporters, “I always get mad if I miss one, even if I’m 10 out of 11.” A few minutes later, Goehlke admitted, “I was literally telling [teammate Trey Tosend] when we were walking here that I should have made 13.”

Goehlke’s seven threes came in the first half as Horizon League champion Oakland took a 38-35 lead. Fans in Pittsburgh were so amazed by the graduate transfer from Division II Hillsdale College that an audible gasp was heard whenever Goehlke rose to shoot.

In the second half, Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Reed Shepard stuck to him five feet behind the 3-point arc and chased him around off-ball screens, with Goehlke still connecting on threes and 3-pointers. His only points on anything other than a 3-pointer were two free throws, when Shepard attempted a top-of-the-key jumper with 3:33 remaining.

Goehlke’s shooting performance led Oakland to its first round of 64 NCAA Tournament victories since the program entered Division I in 1997. On Saturday, the Golden Grizzlies will attempt to become just the third No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet 16, not that they’re embracing the Cinderella label.

“Obviously, we are underdogs by all measures, but as a player, you can’t think that way,” Goehlke said. “You have 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 be in the NBA, but I know that on any given night I’m going to be there against them. “Can compete with people and our team can.”

It’s no surprise to anyone who’s watched Oakland this season that all 20 of Goehlke’s shots against Kentucky came from behind the arc. Of the 6-foot-3 guard’s 335 field goal attempts during the regular season, all but eight were 3-pointers. Goehlke has hit 37% of those attempts from behind.

This kind of one-dimensional approach is extremely rare in college basketball, but it’s not unprecedented in Oakland. Longtime coach Greg Kampe’s system calls for a catch-and-shoot specialist who has the confidence to shoot when given even an inch of space.

All of Oakland sharpshooter Max Hooper’s 257 shots during the 2015–16 season came from behind the arc. The majority of Trevor Bader’s attempts during his illustrious Oakland career from 2010-14 were 3s.

The way Compey sees it, the presence of an elite shooter takes a defender off the floor and allows his offense to operate almost 4-on-4. If Goehlke’s man sticks to him behind the 3-point arc, it creates more space for others to attack the rim off the dribble or score in the post. If Gohlke’s man helps elsewhere or stays behind to chase him off a screen, he’s leaving a lethal 3-point shooter free.

It certainly helped Oakland in the second half Thursday when Kentucky basically played a box-and-one on Goehlke. The Wildcats focused so much on Goehlke that Trey Townsend and DQ Cole were able to step up as well.

In the second half, TV cameras caught an exhausted Gohalke drinking cups of water and getting his feet massaged by Theragun during a timeout. He spent a lot of effort running around screens and hunting shots.

Asked after Thursday’s win if he had time to check his phone, Goehlke told reporters that he usually turns his phone off for a while after the game to “enjoy the moment.” Are.

He said, “I’ll probably check it out in a few hours.” click here

The face of March Madness isn’t concerned about his newfound fame.

“I’m really thinking about tomorrow, getting ready for NC State or Texas Tech,” he said. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to win again.” click here for more