GONZALES — It was just before 4:30 in the afternoon Saturday when the first hint came that something incredible was about to happen.

Greg Gathers, the older brother of Ricardo Gathers, the former Riverside Academy and Baylor standout basketball player who had been making a well-publicized pitch to switch to tight end for the NFL, typed a cryptic Facebook post.

“I’m about to become the biggest Cowboys fan,” it read.

A few minutes later, while the NFL Network was on a commercial break, no less, Rico Gathers’ name scrolled across the bottom of television screens across the nation.

And a little house in Gonzales exploded.

Family and friends screamed and jumped in the air after Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones informed Rico that they had just turned in his name for their final pick of the draft, the 217th pick overall. Then Jones tried for several seconds to regain Rico’s attention on the phone while the screaming continued.

“He’s gone,” Jones said, more than once.

Eventually, Rico composed himself enough to reply: “I accept. I accept.”

Considered by some to be a long shot despite his mammoth size (6-foot-8, 275 pounds), Rico has not played football since he was in seventh grade, and then he played wide receiver.

As he entered high school, Rico and Greg together decided Rico’s future was in basketball.

“You can always go back to football, and basketball will have less wear and tear on your body,” Greg told his brother.

Obviously, the plan worked.

He was one of the best basketball players the state has ever produced, winning the title of Mr. Basketball in 2011. Now he is a Dallas Cowboy.

Jones made sure that Rico understood what that meant.

“Rico, let me give you the shocker of the day,” Jones said. “This ball is oblong, not round.”

To which Rico replied, “I understand.”