Senior Year and Legacy Left Behind
In Gerhardt’s final year at Trinity, one would think that Gerhardt would remain the focal point of the offense after his successful junior season. However, coach Brock had different plans as he was able to recruit his own players in the offseason of 1990 which was something he was not able to do in the previous season (Gerhardt, 2020). After the team got off to a poor start, Gerhardt noticed that his minutes were going down in favor of the freshmen guards. Brock felt the need to give younger players experience so that the team could prepare for the future, essentially sacrificing the 1990-1991 season. (Gerhardt, 2020). Later that year, in the second half of a 68-63 win against Centre College, Gerhardt sprained ligaments in his ankle (Miller, 1991). Before leaving, Gerhardt had put up 19 points but there was a serious concern as to whether Gerhardt would be able to play again that season (Miller, 1991). Gerhardt dedicated himself to going to the training room as often as he could and he came back after only missing a couple of games (Gerhardt, 2020). In his final two collegiate games, Trinity ended up winning against Millsaps 80-68, but losing a nail-biter to Rhodes 59-58, finishing with an 8-17 record on the season (Miller, 1991). In our interview, Gerhardt detailed the memorable loss in his last collegiate game: “Half court, three seconds, okay we can do something with this… What I distinctly remember as we’re getting this play designed for us, one of the freshmen was giving waters to some of the guys on the bench… the top slipped out of his hand and water went all over the floor and we all got drenched in water” (Gerhardt, 2020). After drying off his feet, Gerhardt entered the game preparing to take the last shot – “He [the ref] handed me the ball and I slapped it. Darrell pops up, I throw it to him, make a little V-cut, he throws it to me, I take one dribble, plant my foot, and my foot goes completely out from underneath me and the ball trickles away. I look up and I can’t believe this is how it’s ending,” Gerhardt recalled with a smile (Gerhardt, 2020). Despite the uneventful end to his collegiate career, Gerhardt finished the game with 17 points and led the Tigers in scoring that season averaging 9.1 points per game (Miller, 1991). His college playing career had come to an end.
The following year the Sam’s Center, later named the Bell Center, underwent renovation and there were significant upgrades in the training rooms, the weight rooms, the number of basketball and volleyball courts, and the overall quality of the athletic center (Nelson, 1992). Gerhardt felt that the weight room and the state of the athletic center was certainly lacking prior to the renovation (Gerhardt, 2020) which could have played a role in the losing that Gerhardt experienced on his four years with the team and in previous years. After Gerhardt had graduated, Trinity’s basketball team went 9-16 for two straight seasons, then flourished with a 16-9 season with Brock at the helm (Team W-L Records, n.d.). After a 12-13 season the following year, Trinity bounced back with 19 straight winning seasons from 1995 until 2014 (Team W-L Records, n.d.). While not directly responsible for those winning seasons, Gerhardt’s impact, especially in his junior season, helped create the perception that Trinity’s basketball team was to be taken seriously.
Even though the university did not do anything to celebrate him making the All-CAC team (Gerhardt, 2020), Gerhardt’s accomplishment has stood the test of time and is something to be looked back on 30 years later and appreciate. From Rich Skeen (First Team All-SCAC, 1993-1994) to Charles Houston (First Team All-SCAC, 2009-2010), Gerhardt was the trailblazer that exemplified the standard that following Trinity University players should model their contributions after (Men’s Basketball All-SCAC Team, n.d.). Despite being presented with numerous obstacles such as being overlooked, having losing seasons, coaching changes, injuries, and the loss of a friend, Gerhardt was able to prevail and the legacy he left behind goes far beyond the four years he spent at Trinity University.