Scouting Eric Gordon from Indiana/Illinois Game 02/07/08

Despite trailing for the first thirty-eight minutes of the game, the Indiana Hoosiers were able to overcome a double-digit deficit by the Illinois Fighting Illini and secure an 83-79 victory in double overtime last night in Champaign, Illinois. The event was even more chippy and emotional than the typical college basketball affair, due to the presence of Hoosier freshman guard Eric Gordon, who was booed heartily upon his every touch of the basketball by the Illinois students and fans.

It was Gordon who had committed verbally at first to the University of Illinois, only to switch allegiances and sign with Big Ten Conference rival University of Indiana, after head coach Kelvin Sampson himself signed on to coach the Hoosiers. While shooting free throws early in the second half, cascading choruses of "Liar! Liar!" were shouted at Gordon from the student section directly behind the basket, who obviously still felt bitterness towards the freshman for his change of heart, and frustrations over the Illini's 10-14 record this season (compared to the 19-3 record of Indiana).

Perhaps propelled by the raucous home arena, Illinois came out of the opening tip-off with great energy and confidence, holding Gordon to a single point at the free throw line in the first half. Blanketed by Illinois' man to man defense early on, Gordon shot 0-4 from the field in the first half, with the Hoosiers trailing by four, and was defended very physically, getting knocked down hard in the early minutes of the game on a drive to the hoop.

The very first play of the second half was drawn up for Eric Gordon, coming off of a screen for a catch-and-release three pointer that showed the great shooting touch of the freshman. Stabilizing himself with one of the more solid bases I've personally seen on a jump shooter, Gordon's early struggles shooting the ball were more a product of rushing his follow-through and anxiety than any technical issues or footwork. Throughout the entire game actually, he consistently squared his body to the hoop for jumpers, especially when curling off of screens or pulling up in traffic, showing great use of his legs to gain stability on his shot, and unleashing almost unlimited range from the three point line and beyond. The game-tying, banked three pointer of Gordon with twenty-three seconds left in regulation can serve as no better example of the benefit of having a solid shooting base.

In addition to a strong leg foundation, enabling elevation and ease from distance, Gordon possesses extremely quick wrists, which he uses to release the ball before the defense can bother the shot, and gives him great follow through to knock down jumpers under duress. If he played baseball, the activeness of his wrist action would draw immediate comparisons to a Gary Sheffield or Rickie Weeks.

While he couldn't get his jumper going consistently all night, it was his ability to draw attention and contact while going to the basket which kept Indiana in the game in the second half. Given that he is an 85% shooter from the charity stripe, getting fouled and being aggressive were very big keys to the Indiana offense throughout the night, as was Gordon's playmaking abilities, especially in the overtime periods, to draw the defense and kick out to open teammates for perimeter shots. He showed great court awareness in the second of the overtimes, acting as the point guard for a majority of late possessions.

To suggest Gordon could play point guard on a more prolonged basis, however, would be a mistake, in my opinion. Blessed with a quick first step to the basket and a high basketball IQ, Gordon showed a shaky handle while dribbling the basketball last night, and must improve that aspect before he can succeed at the professional level. Playing the off-guard at 6'4" in college is perfectly acceptable, but would be considered undersized in the NBA, and would have to play some point in order to gain significant minutes or be relegated to coming off the bench at the next level, a fate that would seem a waste of his offensive talents.

Although showing a quick first step to the hoop on offensive possessions, his defense is quite lacking, especially moving laterally either on the ball or playing the zone. Indiana played the entire first half in a 3-2 zone (letting Illinois gain most of its points from three pointers), but switched back and forth from a 2-3 zone to a man-to-man defense in the second half and overtime periods. Man defense was played for the majority of the overtimes, with Gordon shadowing freshman counterpart Demetri McCamey of Illinois on the last few possessions of the game. As the game entered crunch time, the defensive intensity of the Hoosiers picked up considerably, as they played an uninspired defensive game throughout without communication among teammates, and Gordon in particular showed more willingness to play defense as the game became late. Keep in mind, though, that the defensive intensity of Indiana did not win them this basketball game, but rather the offensive ineptitude of Illinois, and the talent disparity between the two teams became more evident as the game wore on. For example, the deciding turnover by the Illini guard McCamey in the second overtime was a by-product of terrible play-calling (and coaching in particular) and confusion on offense, not by any lock-down defense on Gordon's part, even if he is the best perimeter defender on the Hoosiers.

Eric Gordon also has a ways to go in his court demeanor and maturity level, showing countless times throughout the night that he is still a freshman, even if his offensive game is much more matured. Knowing full well that the Illinois fans would be all over him for his decision to renege on his verbal commitment to the school in favor of Sampson and Indiana, he was warned of the physicality of the Illinois basketball team during the opening player introductions, receiving a strong chest bump from Chester Frazier of Illinois, which sent him back a few steps. Still, when knocked down hard on a drive to the basket early in the first half, Gordon recovered and immediately took a shove at the backup center of Illinois, eliciting a reaction from many Illinois players while Gordon turned his back on the situation. Meanwhile the true leader of the Hoosiers team, senior D.J. White, came right over and put his arm on the freshman's shoulders, to help to regain his composure.

Also, on the final offensive possession for the Illini in the second half, big man Shawn Pruitt grabbed an offensive rebound and was grabbed on the arms by Gordon, who was whistled for the blatant foul. Gordon spun and instantly began whining in protest like an NBA player that the foul should not have been called, pouting on an obvious foul call, but was bailed out by Pruitt missing both free throws with three seconds left which would have won the game for the home Illinois team.

Later in the second overtime, with the ball back, thirty-six seconds left on the clock, and no intent on Illinois' part to foul, Gordon very casually walked the ball up the court, getting whistled for a ten second backcourt call and turning the ball over to the home team with 26.2 seconds left in the game. Only the clueless-ness of the offense, and McCamey's terrible turnover on a handoff while attempting to run a weave play, absolved Gordon of the embarrassing ten second call turnover. But the immaturity might not be all of Eric Gordon's fault, as his father was shown on national television (numerous times, at that) sitting almost courtside watching the game, until the elder Gordon reacted to a big Indiana play, and stood up, pointing to his black Hoosiers jersey underneath his blazer, and began looking around the Illini home court, almost searching for a reaction from the home fans. Coincidentally or not, minutes later ESPN sideline report Pat Forde reported that some students had thrown bits of ice in the direction of Gordon's parents, and cameras panned to an agitated Mr. Gordon, no longer looking around the arena with a smile on his face and arms raised. It seems excessive to blame a young man for showing a lack of tact and class, when those are qualities that are usually passed on from our fathers.

Overall, the offensive abilities of Eric Gordon left me impressed, even on an off shooting night. Regardless of final statistics (45 minutes, 19 points, 3-13 FG's, a rebound, 4 assists, and 7 turnovers), he still showed many qualities of great shooters, from his strong lower body to his quick wrists and follow through. He also seems to want the ball in his hands during big possessions, and can get to the hoop at will with his quick first step and get fouled, knocking down free throws almost automatically. Until he works on other aspects of his game, namely defensively and emotional composure, and shows a willingness to grab a rebound and learn to play the point guard, Gordon will remain a very good player, but not yet great. Indiana as a team must show better intensity, especially defensively, and the ability to close out against inferior teams before it can progress come March.