In the fall of 2017, Patrick Cartier and Jack Gohlke were freshman basketball players at Hillsdale College. Now they’re competing on college basketball’s biggest stage; the NCAA Division I basketball tournament.
Cartier helped the Colorado State Rams advance to the first round of the tournament, scoring 12 points on Tuesday night in a First Four victory over the Virginia Cavaliers, 67-42.
“We spent four years of our college career right by each other’s sides,” Gohlke said. “He’s one of my best friends in the world so it’s awesome to see his success and I’m always rooting for him. I definitely hope CSU makes a run in the tournament because he deserves to be in the spotlight.”
Cartier played three seasons with the Chargers and was a two-time G-MAC player of the year, and currently ranks sixth on Hillsdale’s all-time career scoring list with 1,624 total points. He transferred to Colorado State at the end of the 2021-22 season.
“It was definitely a relief to see our team chosen on Sunday,” Cartier said. “Since the first four was added in 2011, one of the teams in the first four has made the sweet 16 almost every year.”
In his second year with the Rams, Cartier started 33 of 34 games and finished the regular season averaging 10.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He had a 52% field-goal percentage.
Gohlke played at Hillsdale for four years, transferring to the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies in metropolitan Detroit at the end of last season.
In his final season with the Chargers, Gohlke was the team’s best three-point shooter, and he tied a single-game record with 10 three-pointers, against Ashland University.
This season, Gohlke averaged 12.2 points per game, with a 37% three-point shooting percentage. The fifth-year senior scored 21 points in Oakland’s victory over the Cleveland State Vikings on March 11 in the Horizon League conference tournament. Oakland clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament the next day by beating the Milwaukee University Panthers in the conference championship. Gohlke scored 15 points in that game.
“It’s been more than I ever could have hoped for here. I never expected it to go like this. It’s been a storybook season with a bunch of great friends,” Gohlke said.
The next games for Cartier and Gohlke are today. Carter and Colorado State will face the Texas Longhorns at 6:50 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C., while Gohlke and Oakland will play John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats at 7:10 p.m. in Pittsburgh, PA. This will be Oakland’s first appearance in the tournament since the 2010-11 season.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Gohlke said. “Kentucky’s obviously a blue blood program, so being able to play them will be a great experience.”
Both Cartier and Gohlke were recruited to Hillsdale by former basketball head coach and current athletic director John Tharp. Under Tharp, the pair went to three NCAA Division II tournaments, and were two-time G-MAC regular season champions.
“Pat and Jack were everything you’d want in someone to represent Hillsdale College,” Tharp said. “They were great students, great players, great teammates, and great friends to so many people across campus.”
For Tharp, watching his former players succeed at a high level brings much emotion.
“There’s a sense of pride for sure, and a lot of joy. It’s like you’re watching your own children. Both of those guys still have a lot of love for Hillsdale,” Tharp said.
Although both Cartier and Gohlke are with different programs, both players attribute much of their growth as players and humans to Hillsdale.
“I would not trade my Hillsdale experience for anything,” Cartier said. “I made some super strong connections with both coaches and teammates that have played a huge part in getting me where I am now.”
The Rams are the 10th seed in the Midwest region, and the Golden Grizzlies are the 14th seed in the South region. Since their teams are in different tournament regions, the only way Cartier and Gohlke would face off against each other would be if both teams reached the Final Four.
“Jack and I are best friends,” Cartier said. “We were roommates for our entire Hillsdale careers. We actually grew up pretty close to each other in Wisconsin, but never knew each other. Anytime I see him or any other prior teammates see success in their life it’s a great feeling. Both of us definitely understand how important Hillsdale played in our growth as players and people.”
