I decided to make my bi-weekly perusal of Peegs.com today to check and see if there was any relevant IU basketball news from last week. (These visits become much more frequent once basketball seasons starts because Peegs is a great Indiana basketball resource.) Unfortunately, there isn’t much to read on Peegs during the football season, as the Hoosiers are fielding a pretty underwhelming team this season. I was happy to see them make a bowl game last year, but they are falling on hard times this year.
Anyway, there was one note of interest I found regarding the basketball program, and it dealt with a player who no longer wears the cream and crimson: Eric Gordon. It seems as if last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year has injured his ankle and will be out for a couple of weeks. Luckily for Gordon, the injury does not appear to be too serious and should not set him back too much as he prepares for his rookie season.
I haven’t posted much about IU basketball yet on Midwest Sports Fans, but that will definitely change once basketball season rolls around. Reading the article about Gordon reminded me of the frustrating memories of the last year of being an IU basketball fan. It still boggles my mind to think about what a quagmire of awfulness last year became after such a promising start to the season.
The two players I felt the worst for were Eric Gordon and D.J. White (who seems to be getting involved and off on the right foot with his new team: the Oklahoma City Thunder). Both of these guys were having unbelievable seasons before the entire program began to unravel thanks to the malfeasance of selfish jackass and shameless liar Kelvin Sampson. I am pretty sure that D.J. White left IU with the full appreciation and adoration of IU fans. His commitment to the program during his five years in school was great to see, and his consistent improvement was a testament to his work ethic and attitude.
But something tells me that the feelings of IU fans towards Eric Gordon are probably pretty mixed; and I think that’s a shame. With so much hoopla (and controversy) surrounding his arrival in Bloomington, and his blazing start, I think that the bar of expectations was probably set at unrealistic levels. The injury to his wrist did not help, and obviously there was only so much Eric Gordon could do when the lack of discipline and direction sunk the program on and off the floor during the second half of the season. (What did you expect? Everyone knows that IU basketball players are hardasses. Wait a minute…)
Had Eric Gordon been a senior last year and displayed similarly poor ball handling and shot selection, perhaps frustration with his play could be understood. But for a freshman, Eric Gordon was remarkably consistent (in terms of effort, though not with his shooting unfortunately) and in hindsight played with pretty respectable intensity and commitment night in and night out considering the circumstances of the program. A lot was placed on his shoulders, and I think he did about as well as could have been expected, if not better. It can be easy to take the talents of great young players for granted sometimes, and forget how young they are. As fans we sometimes focus on the few things these great players are struggling with or not doing, as opposed to truly appreciating all of the things that they are doing.
I always felt that Jared Jeffries was never properly appreciated for his time at IU. He came in with the billing of a superstar wingman, bu ended up settling into a role as a very good player who dictated IU’s offense with his superb passing from the post. He was a valuable member and the most talented player on a great 2002 squad that was
a team in every sense of the word and advanced to the championship game. But Jared Jeffries did not take over games, could not score at will, and never quite lived to the “superstar” status that everyone expected. Regardless, he was the best player on one of the ten most memorable IU teams ever. Still, he is overshadowed by other players from that team like A.J. Moye and Tom Coverdale who were more fan favorites than Jared Jeffries. It can be easy to forget that many of the openings they found on the offensive side of the ball were a result of the attention paid to Jeffries in the post, and his ability to make passes that got the ball into the right place for his teammates to score.
Jared Jeffries and Eric Gordon were two of the most celebrated recruits to come to IU during the 20 years I have been closely following IU basketball. Neither stayed long, and neither completely fulfilled the promise and expectations placed upon them by the IU faithful. But they should both be appreciate and admired for the contributions and results that they did produce, and I am looking forward to following Eric Gordon in the NBA. I certainly hope he can find more stability than he had during his one year at IU, and I am anticipating that he will blossom and become a very good NBA player, if not a star.
I was frustrated by the disappointment that tinged many of the comments by IU fans about Eric Gordon’s play last year. I think he was treated somewhat unfairly, and that most of it was a function of the IU fans’ general frustration and disappointment with how last year’s team turned out. As we move away from the wreckage of last year, I hope that IU fans who harbor any negative thoughts about Eric Gordon are able look back at his short time in Bloomington and appreciate the one year we had with him. There is not one sane and rationally thinking IU fan that would not take him back on campus in a heartbeat; but now that he has left campus, I sincerely hope that he has the full support of IU fans everywhere as he embarks on his professional career.
[tags]indiana hoosiers, college basketball, eric gordon[/tags]
About Jerod Morris
