In what has been a well chronicled year of bad news for fans of Indiana basketball, as chronicled yesterday by FOMSF Josh Q. Public, Hoosier fans have had to search far and wide for good news and elusive silver linings.
Luckily, we have the rookie season of 2007-08 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Eric Gordon to provide a few smiles during perhaps the least competitive season of Indiana basketball in the Hoosiers’ rich and storied tradition.
Today’s Los Angeles Times features a very nice profile of Eric Gordon by Lisa Dillman. I have to admit that between managing this site and wallowing in the misery of the Hoosiers horrid 2008-09 season, I have not been staying as up-to-date on EJ’s exploits as I should be. But what a season he is having:
- Eric Gordon averaged 21.9 points per game in January and was selected the Western Conference Rookie of the Month;
- He is averaging 14.7 points per game for the season;
- He scored 41 points, a Clippers rookie record, against Oklahoma City
- He scored 19 points in the Rookie-Sophomore game during NBA All-Star weekend.
Here is a nice laudatory excerpt from the article:
Clippers’ Eric Gordon is no laughingstock — (LA Times)
Gordon averaged 21.9 points per game in January and was selected the Western Conference rookie of the month; he also became the Clippers’ go-to guy (admittedly, a small selection given the injuries to marquee players) and entered the conversation for NBA rookie of the year. If he was not on the same page as the likes of Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Memphis’ O.J. Mayo, then he at least appeared in the same chapter.
“Derrick’s got the ball in his hand the whole game,” said Neil Olshey, Clippers assistant general manager. “So does O.J. for the most part. Eric’s out there with All-Stars. He’s sharing the ball with Baron Davis, Zach [Randolph], Marcus Camby and Al Thornton.
“Were Eric getting the same number of attempts and touches in attack mode, as he did in January, for the rest of the year, then I think February, March and April would be up for grabs, believe me.”
Said Jordan: “He’s a monster.”
Well done Eric. Here’s hoping you finish strong and earn the Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. It is the only bit of good news IU fans can still hope for this season.
Now some other links for your afternoon enjoyment:
The Week That Was in College Basketball — (Sparty and Friends)
2009 Mock Draft Muncher — (Scout.com)
Shane Battier: The No-Stats All-Star — (New York Times)
Former MSU Spartan Jason Richardson Suspended 1 Game — (Arizona Republic)
Ten of the Weirdest Athlete Endorsements Ever — (RootZoo)
Former White Sox OF Ken Griffey Jr. Picks Braves over Mariners — (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
If Steve Nash doesn’t fit your system, then your system sucks — (Ben’s Suns Blog)
Fantasy Baseball Position Preview – 2B — (Sharapova’s Thigh)
Our Burning Questions for ARod — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
Greg Oden: Mr. Glass — (Josh Q. Public)
and finally, because ARod continues to prove that he is a complete douche…
Alex Rodriguez is Emotional, Dumb — (Deadspin)
About Jerod Morris
