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'07 IN SG Eric Gordon (Indiana Verbal)

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IndyStar

7/30/06

recruiting notes
Will E.J. drop O.J. from No. 1 in nation?

By Jeff Rabjohns
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript><!--document.write(''+'jeff.rabjohns'+'@'+'indystar.com'+'');//--></SCRIPT>[email protected]

For several years now, the first two letters in the rankings of high school basketball players in the 2007 class have been O.J., as in Cincinnati point guard O.J. Mayo.

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In a few weeks, they could be E.J., the nickname for Eric Gordon. (The "J" is for "Jr.")
The shooting guard from North Central has been so dominant during spring and summer play, he's moved into the conversation as to who is the No. 1 player in the nation in the incoming senior class.
Mayo has been No. 1 in his class for some time, practically since he played high school basketball as an eighth-grader in Kentucky.
But Gordon, long considered the top shooting guard in his class, has been the top-rated player in several national events this summer. He'll be discussed heavily over the next couple of weeks as the major scouting services work to produce their final post-summer rankings.
"I've got him No. 2 behind Kevin Love, but he's moved up ahead of Mayo," longtime talent evaluator Bob Gibbons said. "You can say he's the No. 1 shooting guard, scoring guard, whatever, but he's the No. 1 guard, period, in the nation.
"And you can make a case for him being the No. 1 player based on the way he's played this summer."
If Gordon jumps to No. 1, it would be the third consecutive year a player from the Indianapolis area was the nation's top-ranked player by a major scouting service. Carmel's Josh McRoberts had that label for the Class of 2005 and Lawrence North's Greg Oden owned it for the Class of '06.
Since Gibbons' Tournament of Champions in May, Gordon has been the top scorer in every major event in which he has played. That includes the Las Vegas Big Time Tournament, where he set the event scoring record -- surpassing such stars as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.
Gordon scored 262 points in nine games in Vegas. The previous record was 254 by Edwin Rios in 2004, but Rios played in 10 games. Playing with another top-10 player, point guard Derrick Rose, Chicago, Gordon led Mean Streets Express to the title game, where it fell 69-63 to UCLA recruit Love's team.
"It's a big-time tournament where a lot of big-time players are," Gordon said. "It's great to have a good team and compete with the best players.
"I guess Vegas is the place where everything is happening. A lot of college coaches are there. There's the publicity. That's where it starts."
Gordon, who hopes Rose joins him at Illinois, said people are starting to understand he is going to Illinois. Earlier this summer, he said he would listen to new Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, and Internet rumors followed that he might change his college choice.
After Las Vegas, Gordon said the false rumors bothered him, but he's gotten past it.
"It was aggravating," he said. "I never said anything close to 'I'm de-committing,' or that I was going to IU. All I ever talked about was giving them a look.
"I'm going to Illinois. I was going to give Indiana a look."
Gordon's performance last week was the talk of Vegas, especially since he played every minute of every game.
He also led his Indiana Elite team to the semifinals of the Adidas May Classic, was co-MVP of the Adidas SuperStars Camp in early July and was the leading scorer and MVP of the Peach Jam, which invites only the top Nike-sponsored teams.
He played with Rose's team at the Peach Jam and in Vegas. He said he mentioned to Rose about joining him at Illinois and is simply hoping Rose sees how well the two play together.
"We share the ball with each other," Gordon said. "We get our own shots, but we just play together and we outplayed a lot of people."
In Gordon's case, maybe everyone.

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cnnsi.com

8/17/06


Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson is pursuing a summer basketball coach with ties to Eric Gordon to add to the Hoosiers' staff. Sampson offered a position to Travis Steele, Steele's former boss said Tuesday. Steele coached the North Central High School senior at this year's Adidas May Classic. Gordon, who has orally committed to Illinois, said he has known Steele since junior high.
-- Indianapolis Star
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Top hoops recruit 'still really close' to picking Illinois


from wire reports


CHAMPAIGN ? Superstar prep guard Eric Gordon of Indianapolis North Central High School, who made an unofficial visit to Illinois Saturday, still didn't end the speculation whether he would honor his commitment to Illinois or change his mind by jumping to Indiana.
The nation's top-rated shooting guard will have something to say this week about his recruitment and apparently his commitment to Illinois.
"He's going to sit down with his (high school) coach this week and make a statement," said Gordon's father, Eric Sr. "Illinois is a great school. Indiana is a great school."
Gordon, rated by one recruiting service as the nation's best senior, committed to Illinois in November, but his commitment had been questioned after he showed interest in Indiana over the last several months.
Gordon had taken another look at Indiana under new coach Kelvin Sampson.
"I'm still really close to going to Illinois," said Gordon on his way from a bleacher seat at the Illinois-Syracuse football game to a quick visit to the Block I cheering section with the Illini basketball team.
"I'm still looking at other things a little bit," Gordon said.
"That's why I came down this weekend, to get really close, really get to know the coaches and the players.
"I'm just going to really figure it out pretty soon of what I'm going to do."
Gordon can't sign a binding letter of intent until Nov. 8, and his family was trying to keep any decision ? if there already was one ? under wraps.
Gordon won't make an official visit to any other school than Illinois, he said. Of course, both schools he's considering are just down the road from his home.
Gordon, his parents and younger brother Evan made the trip Saturday. It was the first time on campus for his mother. But Gordon will likely return for the homecoming game against Indiana on Oct. 7, when he might make an official visit.
He won't be able to attend midnight madness on Oct. 13 because he will take the SAT exam the following day, he said.
Also in attendance Saturday were Riverton's Mike Tisdale and Peoria Richwoods' Billy Cole, a pair of seniors who also gave Illinois verbal commitments.
 
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Prospect?s college choice looks to be in play

It?s a guess, but Eric Gordon will change his mind, pick IU.

A column by Pete DiPrimio

[email protected]

Eric_Gordon_Mug_09-21-2006_K06F0FM.jpg

Gordon: Gave oral commitment to Illinois last winter

BLOOMINGTON ? Today, we?re doing dangerous sports writing. We?re living on the edge. We?re analyzing from the gut.
Today, we?re going to tell you, with absolute certainty born from two decades of never being wrong (just ask my wife), whether Eric Gordon will choose Indiana or Illinois to play college basketball.
So which is it?
Ah, be patient.
First, a few facts. Gordon is, depending on whom you ask, the No. 1 high school shooting guard in America and one of the top five players in the nation regardless of position. He is a man among boys, the Alpha Stud among Alpha Studs. He is from Indianapolis North Central, and because the Mike Davis-led Hoosiers were not for him, he orally committed to Illinois last winter.
Then Davis resigned and Kelvin Sampson took over and life got complicated.
An oral commitment isn?t binding, but signing a national letter of intent is. High school players can?t sign until November of their senior year. Thus, a player can change his mind, and yes, IU has benefited from this before (remember Robert Vaden signing with the Hoosiers after originally committing to Purdue?).
Once Sampson arrived in Bloomington last spring, Gordon decided to explore his options while still saying his oral commitment with Illinois was firm. Except, of course, that he kept coming to Bloomington ? to visit friends, to have dinner with Sampson and his staff, to play pickup games with current IU players.
If that sounds like getting engaged to Jessica and then dating Britney, well, get your mind back on track.
Anyway, all this stirred angst and criticism within Illini faithful, hope and excitement within Hoosier fans.
Anger was directed at Sampson for getting involved with a player who had committed elsewhere. But recruiting is a ruthless business, and it?s not like Gordon was begging Sampson to leave him alone. If one of America?s top players wants to talk to you, if there are no NCAA rules prohibiting you from talking to him, why wouldn?t you, unless you had the intelligence of a fly?
Last week, Illini coach Bruce Weber visited Gordon at North Central, and by all accounts, it went well. Gordon visited Illinois last weekend, and that, too, apparently went well, although not enough for him to skip another trip to Bloomington.
So Gordon and his family will visit IU this weekend and attend the Hoosier-Connecticut football game. Given the Hoosiers? loss to I-AA Southern Illinois last Saturday and Connecticut?s rushing prowess, well, Cream ?n Crimson fans had better hope the decision doesn?t rest with an Indiana victory.
It won?t, of course. It will be based on what?s best for Gordon, as it should be.
If there?s fault in all this, it?s that Gordon made his original commitment too soon. Don?t commit until you are absolutely sure a school is for you, regardless of any changes in another program. There?s a reason why patience is a virtue.
But you?re not here for a lecture. You want to know where Gordon is going ? before Gordon even knows. In truth, he can?t go wrong. Both are great schools and great programs.
So after analyzing everything, we?ve tapped into the insight that has enabled us to pick the last 10 national basketball champions. OK, maybe it wasn?t the last 10, maybe it wasn?t even the last one (Florida, for those who have forgotten), but let?s not quibble over details.
Gordon will pick the Hoosiers. Sampson will get his first ? but not his last ? big-time Indiana recruiting coup.
And if, by some fluke, Gordon picks Illinois, we can still give you, with absolute certainty, one iron-clad guarantee:
Ohio State will win the national championship.
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Gordon to Indiana finally comes to fruition?

LINK

Midnight madness: Gordon to Indiana?
Prized Illini recruit visits Hoosiers Friday

By Brian Hamilton
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 13, 2006


Prized Indianapolis high school guard Eric Gordon will attend Midnight Madness festivities Friday night at Indiana, a move that likely indicates the senior guard who committed orally to Illinois last year has come to a decision, his father said.

And it's one that likely will make coach Bruce Weber and the Illini faithful unhappy.

"This is pretty significant, because we had not planned any other visits," Eric Gordon Sr. told the Tribune on Thursday night.

The elder Gordon wouldn't say his son definitively is headed to Indiana but indicated the family wanted the younger Gordon to make up his mind before any more campus trips. His son was attempting Thursday night to contact both Weber and Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson.

Gordon, a strong, ultra-athletic 6-foot-4-inch guard from Indianapolis North Central High, is Weber's signature recruit.

This summer Gordon jumped to No. 2 nationally in the Rivals.com rankings for the class of 2007. He had been a top 10 player when he committed to Illinois a year ago.

How developments affect another prime recruit--Simeon's Derrick Rose, Rivals' No. 3 player--remains to be seen. Indiana is on Rose's list of five finalists, and after teaming together on the AAU circuit this summer, he and Gordon expressed interest in attending the same school. Rose, however, will be in Memphis Friday night for the Tigers' version of Midnight Madness.

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This has NCAA investigation written all over it...Kelvin Sampson has shown himself to be a guy who will bend the rules a bit and it would not shock me if he didn't do that in this case. I doubt anything will ever come of it, but you can bet the NCAA's compliance goons will at least take a look at this whole situation, especially once Bruce Weber cries foul.
 
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Gordon to change commitment from Illinois to Indiana

ESPN.com news services





Eric Gordon, one of the top high school guards in the nation, changed his mind and will commit to Indiana.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard from North Central High School in Indianapolis had committed verbally to Illinois in November, but he will announce he's attending Indiana during Hoosier Hysteria on Friday night, his father told the Indianapolis Star.

Chuck Jones, the athletic director at Gordon's high school would not say what Gordon's plans were, but told ESPN.com that Gordon had spoken to the coaches at Indiana and Illinois and would make a public announcement of his plans in the next 24 hours.

Should his commitment stick, it would be a boost for coach Kelvin Sampson, who arrived at Indiana under a cloud of recruiting violations during his tenure at Oklahoma. It would also reverse the trend of top in-state players leaving Indiana, which plagued previous coach Mike Davis.

Gordon, ranked No. 1 in the class of 2007 by Rivals.com, was the subject of recruiting rumors this summer, but told ESPN.com at the the time that he intended to honor his commitment to Illinois.

Asked about recruiting players who had verbally committed, Illinois coach Bruce Weber said it was not accepted in college basketball.

"In football, it's always been known to be open game, but that hasn't been the case with us," Weber said this summer when Gordon was getting attention from Indiana. "If you have a kid [verbally] committed, then for that eight or nine months you don't recruit anyone else. So you lose all that time recruiting other kids, because you have one committed. Ask 98 percent of the coaches, and they'll tell you that they stop calling kids once they [verbally commit]. We do. Most do it."
 
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