While Ben Lammers is credited with 43 steals in the 2016-17 basketball season, one could be forgiven for adding another onto that stat: the collective heart of the Georgia Tech student body.
In a unanimous vote Wednesday morning, the students and faculty of Tech chose Lammers to be crowned both Mr. and Ms. GT for the upcoming year.
“All I can say is that I’m shocked,” the 6-foot-10 center said. “Seriously, I don’t understand this situation at all.”
Social media has been ablaze with Lammers memes in recent weeks, turning the student into something of a pop culture icon among the Tech community. Head Coach Josh Pastner, no stranger to the social media spotlight, has been credited with teaching Lammers how to become the ideal fodder for online memes.
“This is really just making me uncomfortable,” Lammers said during a celebration Wednesday night. “What is wrong with this school?”
Several NBA teams, hungry for good press, have been seen scouting Lammers over the past several days. Following closely behind them is the president of the Delta Chi fraternity, eager to ensure that the title of Mr. GT remain in their possession indefinitely.
A special election is to be held before the fall semester in which students can choose to elect a ticket of Lammers and running mate Ben Lammers to take the place of Sujay Peramanu and Richard Wang as the head of Tech’s Student Government.
“We already have people who know what they’re doing,” Lammers said in support of his campaign. “I really just want to play basketball.”