Former Indiana Hoosiers Star Eric Gordon Injures Ankle
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]
Tags: DJ White, eric gordon, Indiana Hoosiers Basketball, jared jeffries
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Well said. Gordon was a fantastic talent that in these days only lasts one year in college. I went to a few of his games in high school, and was more impressed with his game than I was with Greg Oden. Speaking of Oden, I will from now on only refer to him as “Wise”. Dude looks 40. Anyway, the lack of respect that Gordon got from IU fans was frustrating. I think it was because of the great start and the 1-2 punch that the Hoosiers possessed with him and D.J. that made the fans place such high expectations upon the team, and Gordon. I think last year’s team had the potential to take it all the way, but Satan, I mean Sampson’s actions of the court had become to much to ignore, and his warranted firing was the worst thing that could happen to that team. I must say that, although he broke the rules and could not be applauded for his work at Indiana, the team that he assembled played excellent under his leadership. They were great at both ends of the floor and put together a few runs during games that extinguished their opponents will to play. And it was the teams willingness to play for Sampson that I knew that no coaching change that late in the season would end in a championship, or anything close to that. Now this is not to say that I thought they would lose to Minnesota, I still don’t know what the hell happened there. But all in all, I think IU is on the right track. They have a proven coach in Tom Crean, who is also a great recruiter (Dwayne Wade, Dominick James). They also have a support system of fans and alumns who just won’t give up on them, no matter what. So I look forward to seeing the next few years of IU basketball, and hope that they can once again return to national prominence.
And I want to add that I have personally played some ball with Derrick Elston, the 6-8 recruit from Tipton, IN, and can say that the dude is going to surprise some people. He’s long, athletic, can shoot, rebound, pass, and put the ball on the floor and take it to the hole. He is not an Eric Gordon caliber player, but I have seen his game improve over the last few years, and I know that he is very far from reaching his potential. Watch out for this kid in the next few years.
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I like your optimism. The more I think about it, the more the I feel that IU fans ended up taking out some of their frustration with Kelvin Sampson and the spiraling season on Eric Gordon – because he was the one who was supposed to lead us to so many great things in his only season. It was unfair, but not entirely unexpected after the way that Jared Jeffries was, in my mind, also unfairly treated during his time at IU.
I am excited about Elston. He is the type of solid player that all the great IU teams were built around. He may never be an All Big Ten player or an All American, but it seems like has versatility offensively and can guard 3 different spots on D. Plus, Crean wants to play up-tempo so Elston’s athletic ability will fit in. And, most importantly, he will be a four-year player who can provide leadership and stability like DJ White did. I’m excited for the freshness of next year, regardless of what our record ends up being, and I am ecstatic for the years ahead because I think Tom Crean can build something special.
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