Jack Gaulke is a silent assassin. He was a sniper that no one saw coming. The end of the world. Destroyer of dreams. The man who gives John Calipari nightmares. And he looks like a middle-aged financial manager at a local Honda dealership.
Photo by Justin K. Aller/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Goelke became the first hero of the 2024 March Madness on Thursday night when the Oakland player decided to play the biggest game of his life. The Wildcats had no answer for Goelke. Goelke started the game and scored 15 of Oakland’s 22 points, all on three-pointers.
Yes, he hit five threes before the game really started — and he didn’t stop shooting. After hitting his seventh three in the first half, Goelke could only shrug. Because it’s hard to believe that he believed this was possible.
After watching Goelke’s show, Kentucky fans were stunned and adopted the Surrender Cobras, unable to believe how a sixth-year student from a mid-major college was able to crush the top prospects in basketball. Ta.When the dust settled, he finished saying, ten He made 30 points that night, shooting 50 percent from the field.
Naturally, everyone in the house started trying to figure out who the hell Jack Gaulke was, and we learned some surprising things in the process.
Part 1: Goelke isn’t even a starter.
He has been a frequent part of the Golden Grizzlies’ rotation, but has started just seven games for the team this season.
No. 2: This is a guy who shoots threes, and only threes.
Goelke attempted 254 field goals in 2023-24, 248 of which were 3-pointers. Yes, this is a guy who attempted just eight shots all season and didn’t make any shots.
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Number 3: Believe it or not, Kentucky wasn’t his shooting game’s most memorable game this season.
Dropping 10 of 20 games from three might seem like a one-off that can never be repeated, but he made life miserable for IUPUI earlier this year. On February 17, Goelke played 24 minutes, going 10-of-15 from deep and scoring 31 points, including a four-point play, in a 107-59 win.
Part 4: According to her school profile, Goelke’s favorite snack is pineapple.
It’s singular, not pineapple. pineapple. I like to imagine him in the back of the bus, holding a pineapple in both hands and chewing it like it was a regular apple. However, this is the norm in my head and I can’t confirm whether it’s true or not.
Number 5: Don’t call Oakland Cinderella, he hates it.
No. 6: He’s a DII transfer, but he can barely get on the court at that level.
From Mike Rutherford’s great Day 1 summary:
We’re all used to hearing crazy transfer portal stories by now, but this one is especially ridiculous. Goelke spent the first five seasons of his college career at Hillsdale, a Division II school in Michigan. Although he redshirted in 2018-19, he rarely saw the court until becoming a redshirt junior in his fourth season with the program. That background led him to direct perhaps the most famous program at the biggest event in sports on Thursday night.
That’s unbelievable.
Jack Gaulke is the player to watch at this tournament.
Will Oakland advance further in the tournament? We really don’t know…but overnight he became the basketball world’s indispensable hero. Shooting threes and doing nothing else is such a strange way to play basketball that you can’t help but love it. All eyes will definitely be on Jack Gaelke the next time the Golden Grizzlies play.
