10-13-2006, 05:02 PM
|
 |
The Lizard King
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 29,208
Points: 226,769.59
Bank: 15,007.80
Total Points: 241,777.39
|
|
Illinois has taken some hits in the 2007 class, first Turner now Gordon.....
Rivals.com$
Gordon has verbaled to Indiana.
__________________
Last edited by OSUBasketballJunkie; 10-13-2006 at 08:14 PM.
|
10-14-2006, 06:20 AM
|
|
The Lizard King
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 29,208
Points: 226,769.59
Bank: 15,007.80
Total Points: 241,777.39
|
|
ChicagoSun-Times
Quote:
Gordon bounces Illinois
Star guard withdraws earlier commitment, chooses Indiana
October 14, 2006
BY HERB GOULD AND MICHAEL O'BRIEN Staff Reporters
CHAMPAIGN -- Bruce Weber no longer has his best recruit.
In a major setback for Illinois basketball, Indianapolis North Central shooting guard Eric Gordon withdrew his verbal commitment to Weber late Thursday and committed to Indiana.
''Both coaches are great,'' Gordon's father, Eric Gordon Sr., told the Indianapolis Star on Friday, indicating that Gordon, who could turn pro after one year of college, decided it would be simpler to stay close to home.
''This will be an easy transition from high school to college. If you say basketball is a wash and you look at the school, the location, everything, he's made the best decision. I have to say Indiana is the best place for him.''
Weber is barred by NCAA rules from commenting. But considering the way the Gordon situation unfolded, Friday the 13th shapes up as one of the darkest days in his four years at Illinois.
Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word. So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
This late defection leaves Illinois, which has recruited two big men and a point guard for the November signing period, scrambling for another shooting guard.
The chances of signing a fourth recruit are remote because at this point, all of the top prospects are taken.
Weber will take a lot of unfair heat from disappointed fans for again coming up short.
Players Illinois coveted but did not land include Julian Wright (Homewood-Flossmoor) and Sherron Collins (Crane), who both chose Kansas; Shaun Livingston (Peoria Central) and Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North), who both chose Duke; Evan Turner (St. Joseph), who chose Ohio State, and the still-deciding Rose (Simeon), who didn't even put Illinois on his short list of five schools.
But considering that Gordon will be a short-termer in college, the greater damage involves the perception problem as well as missing out on other prospects because Gordon supposedly had committed.
''The only problem now is, he's going to have to answer a lot of questions,'' Gordon's father said. ''The Illinois fan base is going to be disappointed, and he's the kind of kid that's a pleaser, so that's going to be hard. That's one reason this decision was so tough. [But] he had to do what's best for himself.''
Saying the Gordon recruitment is the craziest situation he's seen in the 20 years he has been a recruiting analyst, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report sympathized with the way the events unfolded.
''None of this was Weber's fault,'' Schmidt said. ''I don't care what school Eric Gordon chooses. This sends the wrong message when it comes to how to recruit any student-athlete. It says that verbal commitments are non-binding. It says you can go back on your word.''
One X factor in the Gordon recruitment was the departure of Mike Davis and the arrival of Sampson, who wasn't going to let a verbal commitment interfere with stopping the flow of prep stars to out-of-state schools. That group includes national prep player of the year Greg Oden and his Lawrence North teammate Mike Conley to Ohio State, Carmel's Josh McRoberts to Duke, Bloomington North's Sean May to North Carolina and Richmond's Dominic James to Marquette.
Weber is likely to take the high road in public encounters with the new Indiana coach.
But the Gordon episode is likely to turn up the heat on the Illinois-Indiana rivalry, which already has had its share of heated moments.
hgould@suntimes.com mobrien@suntimes.com
|
__________________
|
10-15-2006, 03:22 PM
|
 |
Magister Equitum
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,062
Points: 13,266.45
Bank: 2,604.87
Total Points: 15,871.32
|
|
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
we shouldn't be surprised, but this is awfully disappointing to read. sampson is immediately creating enemies among the big ten coaches.
stay away from offutt, sampson! 
|
10-15-2006, 03:31 PM
|
|
The Lizard King
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 29,208
Points: 226,769.59
Bank: 15,007.80
Total Points: 241,777.39
|
|
Quote:
|
stay away from offutt, sampson!
|
No worries...... 
__________________
|
10-15-2006, 04:11 PM
|
|
Magister Equitum
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,062
Points: 13,266.45
Bank: 2,604.87
Total Points: 15,871.32
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by OSUBasketballJunkie
No worries...... |
still, perhaps someone here should think about tapping sampson's phones.  |
10-18-2006, 08:49 PM
|
 |
"The Flying WASP"
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,096
Points: 212.79
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 212.79
|
|
|
that sucks for weber and all of illinois' fans. sampson doesn't seem to have many boundaries that he isn't willing to cross. if it really is true what weber says that it is an unwritten rule you just don't recruit verbals then this makes sampson look like a shade ball.
__________________
"When I went to Ohio State I tried to drink all the beer in Columbus, but they kept making more"
-Jack Nicklaus
|
10-27-2006, 05:15 AM
|
|
The Lizard King
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 29,208
Points: 226,769.59
Bank: 15,007.80
Total Points: 241,777.39
|
|
Link
Quote:
Sorting out the Gordon situation
There will be a lot of talk about top five prospect Eric Gordon backing off his verbal commitment to Illinois and switching to Indiana. If Gordon follows through and signs with the Hoosiers during the early signing period in November, Illini fans will get the official signal to go into ?We Hate Kelvin Sampson? mode.
But here are some reasons why Indiana?s new coach isn?t entirely to blame in this little soap opera:
Gordon, from Indianapolis, always wanted to play for the Hoosiers. He just didn?t want to play for former coach Mike Davis. And Gordon?s older brother attends Indiana.
Gordon gave his verbal commitment to Illinois before Davis resigned. Once Davis was gone and Indiana hired Sampson, Sampson?s staff made a call to the Gordon family to discuss the guard?s interest. The Gordons didn?t hang up and didn?t say, ?Don?t ever call again.?
Once Davis resigned, Illinois coach Bruce Weber and his staff should have realized that Gordon?s recruitment could re-open. The Illini didn?t come up with a ?what if?? plan in case Gordon changed his mind.
|
|
10-31-2006, 06:08 AM
|
|
The Lizard King
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 29,208
Points: 226,769.59
Bank: 15,007.80
Total Points: 241,777.39
|
|
LINK
Quote:
Bitterness lingers over Gordon saga
By JEFF WASHBURN
jwashburn@journalandcourier.com
CHICAGO -- Bruce Weber tried to remain calm, selecting words carefully while discussing Illinois prize recruit Eric Gordon's 11th-hour change of heart.
The Indianapolis North Central standout guard, ranked No. 1 in the nation by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, announced Oct. 13 that he will play at Indiana for new coach Kelvin Sampson.
Sunday morning's Big Ten Media Day was the first time Weber and Sampson have been face to face since Gordon's decision.
"I haven't been around (Sampson), other than sitting in the same room (Sunday)," Weber said. "Obviously, in our case, it wasn't a positive situation. But basketball is competitive, and our business is competitive. You have to move on."
But moving on won't be easy for the former Purdue assistant and Illinois fans.
When Sampson replaced Mike Davis, he hired Jeff Meyer as an assistant coach. Meyer, a North White High School graduate, was Eric Gordon Sr.'s college coach at Liberty.
Sampson also hired Gordon's Amateur Athletic Union coach, Travis Steele, as video coordinator.
The Gordon-to-IU scenario leaves a sour taste in Weber's mouth.
"A lot of things in recruiting in this day and age do," Weber said. "Last year, there was a record number of coaching changes. We need to stick together and help each other, not hurt each other.
"Every year when you don't get a player, you have a knot in your stomach. If (recruiting) was logical, a lot more people would be in this business and would stay in it longer. But recruiting is not always logical."
Sittin | | |
