Jack Gohlke hit the road, and now he’s back.

A year after spending time in the national spotlight for helping carry Oakland University to an upset over Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, Gohlke, recently acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons’ NBA G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, will be celebrated Saturday by the Cruise on OU Night when the team takes on the Windy City Bulls.

These last 12 months for one of the darlings of March Madness from last season have been a wild ride.

“It’s definitely been kind of a crazy year, for sure, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot and had a lot of experiences, so I’m lucky,” Gohlke said following a team practice Friday afternoon.

A Wisconsin native who led Hillsdale College to its first-ever NCAA D2 Elite Eight appearance, Gohlke made use of his added eligibility from the COVID pandemic in the greatest way possible after transferring to finish his collegiate tenure with the Golden Grizzlies last season. It culminated in a 32-point performance (including 10 3-pointers on 20 attempts) that helped Oakland upset No. 3 Kentucky, then Gohlke scored 22 in an overtime loss to NC State.

From there, despite being undrafted, Gohlke participated in the NBA Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder. When that opportunity came to an end, the 6-foot-3 guard signed with KK Podgorica of the Prva A Liga League in Montenegro, but after four or so months there, a coaching change with the team led to instability and made it time for him to once again reevaluate his options.

That option led him back close to home with the Wisconsin Hurd, the Bucks’ G League affiliate, who play just a little over an hour up I-41 from Gohlke’s hometown of Pewaukee.

Immediately, he showed off that trademark stroke from long range, hitting 13-of-31 three-point attempts in his first handful of games with the Hurd. Along the way, he had a chance to brush elbows with some incredible talents who have been to the top of the game.

“I’d say the most notable (guy was Hurd teammate) Justice Winslow,” Gohlke said of the former 10th overall pick out of Duke. “Watching him play and learning from him, he’s super-high IQ and knows how to kind of manipulate the game. There’s a lot of stops where we’ve played former NBA guys who’ve had great careers. TJ Warren, for example, with the (Westchester) Knicks, he had a 50-point game in the NBA, he’s killing it in the G League. Kind of seeing where you stack up with those guys is a great experience.”

Following 20 games with the Hurd, Gohlke unexpectedly was on the move once more. Again, it would be to familiar surroundings as the Cruise acquired him from Milwaukee earlier this month.

“I was with the Hurd in Santa Cruise for a couple games and my agent told me after practice I might be on the move, but expected it might be in a couple days or over the weekend,” Gohlke said. “I was ready for a move, but wasn’t really ready for what would happen. He called me the next morning before a shootaround and (told me I’d been) traded to the Cruise and booked me a flight.”

Aside from the logistics of moving his belongings from Wisconsin to Detroit while linking up with the Cruise on a West Coast trip, Gohlke, who hasn’t had much time to slow down in this past year, seemed happy to be back in familiar territory.

“I’ve had so much fun in Michigan and so many good experiences around here, I was definitely happy about it,” said Gohlke, who said he’s looking forward to seeing some guys from Oakland this weekend, and that when the season ends, he’s going to spend time back on campus and getting in workouts during the offseason.

Gohlke will be doing a postgame meet and great with the fans attending, and Oakland students can receive a special discount on tickets for the game, which is the final home contest of the regular season for the Cruise, who are currently in the playoff hunt. As of Friday afternoon, they sit a game behind the Indiana Mad Ants for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Gohlke believes his hoops IQ has grown a ton in these past months through watching film and learning from coaches, and this offseason, he’s aiming to work on expanding his playmaking to create more on the ball and broaden his reputation. But before then, he’s looking to put on a show for the fans as the Cruise aim to extend their campaign.

“I’m super excited about it, to hear all the people coming tomorrow with the support they’ve given me and (being able to) show it back to them,” Gohlke said. “Being back in Detroit, everyone coming out, it means a lot. I’m hoping I can put on a little bit of a performance for them and give them something to cheer for. I’m really looking forward to it.”