Eric Gordon
Encyclopedia
Eric Ambrose Gordon, Jr. (born December 25, 1988), nicknamed "EJ", is an American professional basketball
player for the Los Angeles Clippers
of the NBA
. In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a major recruiting battle between the University of Illinois
and Indiana University
in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of a great deal of media coverage.
Gordon played one season of college basketball
at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. He finished his freshman season leading the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 19th in the nation at 21.5 points per game. Gordon entered the 2008 NBA Draft
and was selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers
. Gordon is represented by agent Rob Pelinka
.
, Gordon began playing sports at the YMCA at 4, playing soccer, and then moved quickly on to basketball. He also played football but his true love was basketball. At the age of 7 he began playing competitive basketball at the historical Municipal Gardens. His spent the majority of his time across the street from his home at the Jewish Community Center
of Indianapolis (JCC). There Gordon spent many hours playing pick ball, swimming and hanging out with friends. It was at the JCC that Gordon announced his departure from college to enter his name into the NBA Draft
.
Gordon played high school basketball at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He led North Central to the Indiana 4A title game his senior year. However, they fell to E'Twaun Moore
, Angel Garcia and East Chicago Central. He averaged 29 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 57.0% from the field, 77.9% from the free throw line, and 46.2% from three-point range. Gordon was also named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" for 2007 as well as a McDonald's All-American. Gordon was a teammate of Greg Oden
in Indiana AAU ball. He was ranked as the nation's #2 high school prospect in the class of 2007 by Rivals.com
, behind Michael Beasley
.
Gordon graduated in 2007 from North Central High School, in Indianapolis. He attended the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township
. He began his elementary years at Fox Hill Elementary which is located down the street from his childhood home. He then, moved on to Northview Middle School which is located on the same property as his high school, North Central High School
(NC). There he played varsity all four years for the NC Panthers. His most memorable experience was getting to play on ESPN against Loyola Academy
, Chicago, IL. To which his idol Michael Jordan
would attend that game. He scored a record high of 43 pts that night. He later went on to score 50 points twice during the season.
During the summer, Gordon would attend many AAU tournaments, Adidas Superstar camps and, Big Time in Las Vegas. He played on teams which included other NBA players: Greg Oden
, Mike Conley, Jr.
, Josh McRoberts
, Daequan Cook
and Derrick Rose
. Playing with all these talented standouts made Gordon push himself to get better.
During his senior year of high school, Gordon led his team to the state finals averaging 29 points per game; however, they fell short and became the runners-up to East Chicago. He earned various honors that year. He became Indiana Player of the Year, Mr. Basketball 2007, and Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year 2007. He was McDonald All-American and Michael Jordan Brand All-American. He earned a spot as a Parade
First Team All-American and USA Today First Team All-American. Although, Gordon was heavily recruited by many schools he made a verbal commitment to the University of Illinois. Upon coaching changes at Indiana University
he later signed his letter of intent with Indiana University
.
led to frequent rumors that he intended to renege on his original commitment to the University of Illinois. Gordon's recruitment was particularly high-profile because of his high level of play in summer tournaments and the high ranking given to him by major recruiting services.
On November 30, 2005, during his junior year of high school, Gordon made a verbal commitment to play basketball for Bruce Weber
at the University of Illinois, selecting the Illini over overtures from Duke
and Notre Dame
. Gordon and his family cited their comfort with Bruce Weber, the location of Illinois' campus, and the success of former Illini guards Deron Williams
and Luther Head
in the NBA as reasons for their decision.
On February 15, 2006, Sports Illustrated
reported that Mike Davis, then the head coach at Indiana University, intended to resign after the 2005–06 season, due in part to a lack of support after the team failed to make the NCAA Tournament
in 2004 and 2005. Indiana subsequently hired Kelvin Sampson
as the new men's basketball coach in March 2006. Some reporters speculated that Gordon was uninterested in playing at Indiana under Mike Davis because of Davis' lack of success. Shortly after Sampson was named head coach at Indiana, he hired Jeff Meyer, Eric Gordon Sr.'s college basketball coach and a long time family friend, as an assistant.
During the subsequent offseason, Gordon was recruited by Sampson's staff after Gordon told Sampson he was still interested in Indiana. It was rumored in July 2006 that Gordon had decided to vacate his verbal commitment because of concerns about the strength of Illinois' incoming class, but Gordon stated that although he was a childhood fan of the Hoosiers and was considering Indiana, he was still committed to Illinois. That month, Gordon played with Derrick Rose
, another top-5 recruit, in an attempt to convince Rose to join him at Illinois.
Rumors of an impending decommitment continued into the start of the 2006–07 academic year, fueled in part by Gordon's rise to the top of some services' rankings of high school basketball players. On September 2, 2006, Gordon and Rose made an unofficial visit to Indiana to scrimmage with current Hoosier players, fueling further speculation that Gordon would switch his commitment. Six weeks later, on October 13, 2006, Eric Sr. announced that his son had officially decided to change his commitment. Gordon signed a National Letter of Intent
with Indiana on November 8, 2006.
The timing of the switch was particularly damaging for Illinois, which had expected Gordon to be part of its class and was left without a shooting guard at a time when most other guards had made verbal commitments. The Illini received a letter of intent
from top 100 shooting guard Quinton Watkins of Compton, California, the following December, but, due to NCAA Academic Clearinghouse issues, he would not play for the Illini, eventually deciding to enroll, briefly, at San Diego State.
Gordon was warmly welcomed by Indiana fans, but received sharp criticism from Illinois fans for the timing of his decommitment and his previous statements about his college destination. Eric Sr. stated in October 2006 that his son had received death threats as a result of his decision, although his son later stated that Illinois fans had only said they did not want the younger Gordon to be successful. On February 7, 2008, Gordon and Indiana played Illinois in Champaign; Gordon and his family were the targets of loud booing and taunting throughout the game, and some witnesses reported that the Gordon parents were hit with ice and orange and blue beads near the game's end. Illinois' athletic director, Ron Guenther
, apologized for the incident, calling fan behavior "disappointing and intolerable." Illinois fans were reportedly particularly outraged that the Gordon family, and its entourage, wore "Got Gordon?" t-shirts, a paean to the Got Milk?
campaign.
(IU) in Bloomington Indiana. There, Gordon at 6’3” played a shooting guard with the Indiana Hoosiers for one year. While attending he planned to study Sports Management. During that year Eric attained many honors. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and made the 3rd team All-American. He is the all time leading scorer for freshman at IU. He set a record at IU and in the Big Ten for scoring 669 points. He was also a candidate for the Wooden Award and Naismith Award. He was also name second team All-American for CBSSports.com
. During his freshman year Gordon average 20.9 points. Gordon’s jersey was the number 23 which he also wore in high school. Now he wears the No. 10. The number 10 was his original grade school number, and the age his game really took off.
Gordon finished his freshman season averaging 20.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, making 33.7% of his three-point shots and leading the Big Ten in scoring. Gordon was highly effective for Indiana in its first 18 games as the Hoosiers started the season with 17 wins and only one loss. However, he entered into a noticeable shooting slump at the end of the year, making only 18.6% of his three-point field goal attempts (13 of 70) after Indiana's February 7 win against Illinois and shooting only 3 of 15 from the field and 0 of 6 from the three point line in the team's loss to Arkansas
in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament
. Gordon played the second half of the season with an injured wrist.
On March 10, 2008 Gordon was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and to the First Team of the Big Ten Conference by the coaches and media, along with his teammate D. J. White
. He was also a 3rd Team All-American.
| align="left" | 2007-08
| align="left" | Indiana
| 32 || 32 || 34.7 || .433 || .337 || .834 || 3.3 || 2.4 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 20.9
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 32 || 32 || 34.7 || .433 || .337 || .834 || 3.3 || 2.4 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 20.9
that he would enter the 2008 NBA Draft
. ESPN analyst Chad Ford ranked Gordon as one of the top ten players in this draft class. He was drafted with the seventh pick in the 2008 NBA Draft
by the Los Angeles Clippers
. Gordon scored 23 points in his first NBA Summer League
game in the Las Vegas summer league on the campus of UNLV. Gordon played in two summer league games where he averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds. Gordon injured his hamstring July 12 against the Charlotte Bobcats
. It was confirmed on July 13, 2008 by the Clippers that Gordon would miss the rest of summer league due to a strained left hamstring.
However, at the start of the 2008 NBA pre-season, Gordon made his offensive prowess known in only his second exhibition game, scoring 33 points in 31 minutes to help the Clippers defeat the Sacramento Kings
116–112. On January 23, he set a Clippers franchise record for most points scored by a rookie with 41 points (a record since broken by Blake Griffin
). With Gordon's exceptional performance, he was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. He averaged 16.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals in 34.3 minutes per game and was the third leading scorer among all rookies. For his efforts, he was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie Second Team
and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
went head-to-head in the inaugural Sprite All-Star Slam Dunk-In, which took place at halftime of the Rookie Challenge. The fans went on to choose DeRozan as their vote to advance to the main event, the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest
. Gordon was also selected to the sophomore team for the 2010 T-Mobile NBA Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam event.
Gordon finished second on his team with 16.9 points, averaged 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists in a team-high 36.0 minutes. He appeared in 62 games, and started in 60 games. He led his team in scoring 16 times, steals 17 times and minutes 16 times. Gordon scored 30+ points one time and had 20+ points 19 times. He was one of 27 players named to 2010-12 USA Men’s National Team Program.
, Gordon was geared towards a breakout season. Gordon was on a scoring tear earlier in the season but was slowed down in his game against the Golden State Warriors
, with a hard foul committed by Andris Biedriņš
, which forced Gordon (who was averaging 24.1 points per game before the injury) to be sidelined for 18 games. It was later revealed that Gordon had a sprained wrist with a bone chip fracture. Returning from an 18-game absence, Gordon had a solid performance with a win against the Houston Rockets
with 24 points. Gordon re-aggravated his sprained wrist the second game back against the Denver Nuggets
, this time a hard foul committed by Timofey Mozgov
, which gave Gordon a 6-game absence. Gordon's breakout season was hampered by injuries and he had to wear a wristband for the remainder of the season.
Gordon finished the season as the Clippers' second leading scorer, with 22.3 points per game. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Gordon scored 30+ points 8 times and had a streak of 20 or more points for 12 consecutive games.
in Istanbul, Turkey, Gordon averaged 8.6 points while finishing second on the team in three-pointers made (19) and second on the team in three-point percentage (.452, 19-42 3FG), helping the United States finish a perfect record of (9-0) en route to winning the gold medal.
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
| 78 || 65 || 34.3 || .456 || .389 || .854 || 2.6 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .4 || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
| 62 || 60 || 36.0 || .449 || .371|| .742 || 2.6 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .2 || 16.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
| 56 || 56 || 37.4 || .450 || .364|| .825 || 2.9 || 4.4 || 1.3 || .3 || 22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 196 || 181 || 35.4 || .452 || .375 || .810 || 2.7 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .3 || 18.1
! Stat
! High
! Opponent
! Date
|-
| Points
| 41
| vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
|
|-
| Field goals made
| 14
| vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
|
|-
| Field goals attempted
| 26
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Three-point field goals made
| 7
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Three-point field goals attempted
| 11
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Free throws made
| 16
| vs. New Jersey Nets
|
|-
| Free throws attempted
| 20
| vs. New Jersey Nets
|
|-
| Offensive rebounds
| 5
| vs. Philadelphia 76ers
|
|-
| Defensive rebounds
| 6
| vs. Memphis Grizzlies
|
|-
| Total rebounds
| 8
| vs. Los Angeles Lakers
|
|-
| Assists
| 11
| vs. San Antonio Spurs
|
|-
| Steals
| 5
| vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
|
|-
| Blocks
| 3
| vs. Utah Jazz
|
|-
| Minutes played
| 53
| vs. Utah Jazz
|
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player for the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a major recruiting battle between the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of a great deal of media coverage.
Gordon played one season of college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. He finished his freshman season leading the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 19th in the nation at 21.5 points per game. Gordon entered the 2008 NBA Draft
2008 NBA Draft
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008 at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including...
and was selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. Gordon is represented by agent Rob Pelinka
Rob Pelinka
Robert Todd Pelinka, Jr. is an American lawyer, National Basketball Association sports agent and former college basketball player from Lake Bluff, Illinois . He is best known as Kobe Bryant's agent and President and CEO of The Landmark Sports Agency, LLC...
.
Early Life
Born in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Gordon began playing sports at the YMCA at 4, playing soccer, and then moved quickly on to basketball. He also played football but his true love was basketball. At the age of 7 he began playing competitive basketball at the historical Municipal Gardens. His spent the majority of his time across the street from his home at the Jewish Community Center
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
of Indianapolis (JCC). There Gordon spent many hours playing pick ball, swimming and hanging out with friends. It was at the JCC that Gordon announced his departure from college to enter his name into the NBA Draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
.
High school
E'Twaun Moore
E'Twaun Donte Moore is an American professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, who is playing with Italy's Benetton Treviso during the lockout. Moore was drafted by the Celtics in the 2011 NBA Draft after playing college basketball at Purdue...
, Angel Garcia and East Chicago Central. He averaged 29 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 57.0% from the field, 77.9% from the free throw line, and 46.2% from three-point range. Gordon was also named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" for 2007 as well as a McDonald's All-American. Gordon was a teammate of Greg Oden
Greg Oden
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....
in Indiana AAU ball. He was ranked as the nation's #2 high school prospect in the class of 2007 by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, behind Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association . He plays both forward positions, and shoots his jump shot left-handed, though he is also ambidextrous...
.
Gordon graduated in 2007 from North Central High School, in Indianapolis. He attended the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township
Metropolitan School District of Washington Township
The Metropolitan School District of Washington Township is a public school district in Indianapolis, Indiana. The district was established in 1955 and serves the area of Washington Township that was outside of the city limits before the city and county were merged in 1970...
. He began his elementary years at Fox Hill Elementary which is located down the street from his childhood home. He then, moved on to Northview Middle School which is located on the same property as his high school, North Central High School
North Central High School
North Central High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township. The school year enrollment is 3,400 in grades 9-12. The current principal is Mr...
(NC). There he played varsity all four years for the NC Panthers. His most memorable experience was getting to play on ESPN against Loyola Academy
Loyola Academy
Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...
, Chicago, IL. To which his idol Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
would attend that game. He scored a record high of 43 pts that night. He later went on to score 50 points twice during the season.
During the summer, Gordon would attend many AAU tournaments, Adidas Superstar camps and, Big Time in Las Vegas. He played on teams which included other NBA players: Greg Oden
Greg Oden
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....
, Mike Conley, Jr.
Mike Conley, Jr.
Michael Alex "Mike" Conley, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association.Conley is the son of Olympic gold and silver medalist triple jumper Mike Conley, Sr...
, Josh McRoberts
Josh McRoberts
Joshua Scott McRoberts is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft...
, Daequan Cook
Daequan Cook
Daequan Cook is an American basketball player and currently a shooting guard for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder....
and Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose
Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association ....
. Playing with all these talented standouts made Gordon push himself to get better.
During his senior year of high school, Gordon led his team to the state finals averaging 29 points per game; however, they fell short and became the runners-up to East Chicago. He earned various honors that year. He became Indiana Player of the Year, Mr. Basketball 2007, and Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year 2007. He was McDonald All-American and Michael Jordan Brand All-American. He earned a spot as a Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
First Team All-American and USA Today First Team All-American. Although, Gordon was heavily recruited by many schools he made a verbal commitment to the University of Illinois. Upon coaching changes at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
he later signed his letter of intent with Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
.
Recruitment
After making an early verbal commitment in late 2005, Gordon's recruitment was frequently discussed in the summer of 2006, as his contact with Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
led to frequent rumors that he intended to renege on his original commitment to the University of Illinois. Gordon's recruitment was particularly high-profile because of his high level of play in summer tournaments and the high ranking given to him by major recruiting services.
On November 30, 2005, during his junior year of high school, Gordon made a verbal commitment to play basketball for Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (coach)
Bruce Brett Weber is an American college basketball coach. Weber is the head coach of the University of Illinois men's basketball team...
at the University of Illinois, selecting the Illini over overtures from Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. Gordon and his family cited their comfort with Bruce Weber, the location of Illinois' campus, and the success of former Illini guards Deron Williams
Deron Williams
Deron Michael Williams , nicknamed D-Will, is an American basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Williams has also played for the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League...
and Luther Head
Luther Head
Luther Dale Head is an American professional basketball player. Standing 6'3" and weighing 185 lb , Head plays primarily shooting guard but played small forward as a college basketball star at the University of Illinois.-High school:Head attended Manley Academy in Chicago where he averaged over...
in the NBA as reasons for their decision.
On February 15, 2006, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
reported that Mike Davis, then the head coach at Indiana University, intended to resign after the 2005–06 season, due in part to a lack of support after the team failed to make the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in 2004 and 2005. Indiana subsequently hired Kelvin Sampson
Kelvin Sampson
Kelvin Sampson is an assistant coach of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. He previously was a men's college basketball coach at Montana Tech , Washington State University , the University of Oklahoma and Indiana University .-Early life and coaching:Sampson was born in the...
as the new men's basketball coach in March 2006. Some reporters speculated that Gordon was uninterested in playing at Indiana under Mike Davis because of Davis' lack of success. Shortly after Sampson was named head coach at Indiana, he hired Jeff Meyer, Eric Gordon Sr.'s college basketball coach and a long time family friend, as an assistant.
During the subsequent offseason, Gordon was recruited by Sampson's staff after Gordon told Sampson he was still interested in Indiana. It was rumored in July 2006 that Gordon had decided to vacate his verbal commitment because of concerns about the strength of Illinois' incoming class, but Gordon stated that although he was a childhood fan of the Hoosiers and was considering Indiana, he was still committed to Illinois. That month, Gordon played with Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose
Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association ....
, another top-5 recruit, in an attempt to convince Rose to join him at Illinois.
Rumors of an impending decommitment continued into the start of the 2006–07 academic year, fueled in part by Gordon's rise to the top of some services' rankings of high school basketball players. On September 2, 2006, Gordon and Rose made an unofficial visit to Indiana to scrimmage with current Hoosier players, fueling further speculation that Gordon would switch his commitment. Six weeks later, on October 13, 2006, Eric Sr. announced that his son had officially decided to change his commitment. Gordon signed a National Letter of Intent
National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
with Indiana on November 8, 2006.
Aftermath
Gordon's announcement gave Indiana a very strong 2007 recruiting class, ranked by some analysts as the third-best incoming class in the country. Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Weber both received criticism from fellow coaches for failing to communicate with one another about Gordon's recruitment. Although the NCAA does not regulate verbal commitments or the recruitment of orally committed players, some observers have stated that Sampson had acted unethically in recruiting a committed player without first contacting Weber.The timing of the switch was particularly damaging for Illinois, which had expected Gordon to be part of its class and was left without a shooting guard at a time when most other guards had made verbal commitments. The Illini received a letter of intent
National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
from top 100 shooting guard Quinton Watkins of Compton, California, the following December, but, due to NCAA Academic Clearinghouse issues, he would not play for the Illini, eventually deciding to enroll, briefly, at San Diego State.
Gordon was warmly welcomed by Indiana fans, but received sharp criticism from Illinois fans for the timing of his decommitment and his previous statements about his college destination. Eric Sr. stated in October 2006 that his son had received death threats as a result of his decision, although his son later stated that Illinois fans had only said they did not want the younger Gordon to be successful. On February 7, 2008, Gordon and Indiana played Illinois in Champaign; Gordon and his family were the targets of loud booing and taunting throughout the game, and some witnesses reported that the Gordon parents were hit with ice and orange and blue beads near the game's end. Illinois' athletic director, Ron Guenther
Ron Guenther
Ron Guenther is the former Director of Athletics for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is best known for the hiring of Fighting Illini athletics coaches, the development of the men's tennis team into a national power , and the development of many athletics facilities...
, apologized for the incident, calling fan behavior "disappointing and intolerable." Illinois fans were reportedly particularly outraged that the Gordon family, and its entourage, wore "Got Gordon?" t-shirts, a paean to the Got Milk?
Got Milk?
Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign encouraging the consumption of cow's milk, which was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993 and later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. It has been running...
campaign.
College career
Gordon attended college at Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(IU) in Bloomington Indiana. There, Gordon at 6’3” played a shooting guard with the Indiana Hoosiers for one year. While attending he planned to study Sports Management. During that year Eric attained many honors. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and made the 3rd team All-American. He is the all time leading scorer for freshman at IU. He set a record at IU and in the Big Ten for scoring 669 points. He was also a candidate for the Wooden Award and Naismith Award. He was also name second team All-American for CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com was founded in 1994 as SportsLine USA, and today is a CBS-owned website that provides sports scores, news, statistics, live and on-demand video, mobile apps, e-commerce, fantasy sports products, services, and information..Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, CBSSports.com it is...
. During his freshman year Gordon average 20.9 points. Gordon’s jersey was the number 23 which he also wore in high school. Now he wears the No. 10. The number 10 was his original grade school number, and the age his game really took off.
Gordon finished his freshman season averaging 20.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, making 33.7% of his three-point shots and leading the Big Ten in scoring. Gordon was highly effective for Indiana in its first 18 games as the Hoosiers started the season with 17 wins and only one loss. However, he entered into a noticeable shooting slump at the end of the year, making only 18.6% of his three-point field goal attempts (13 of 70) after Indiana's February 7 win against Illinois and shooting only 3 of 15 from the field and 0 of 6 from the three point line in the team's loss to Arkansas
Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team represents the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The school's team currently competes in the Southeastern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008...
in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...
. Gordon played the second half of the season with an injured wrist.
On March 10, 2008 Gordon was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and to the First Team of the Big Ten Conference by the coaches and media, along with his teammate D. J. White
D. J. White
Dewayne "D. J." White, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association. His primary position is power forward but he also plays at center. He was selected with the 29th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons but his...
. He was also a 3rd Team All-American.
College Statistics
|-| align="left" | 2007-08
| align="left" | Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
| 32 || 32 || 34.7 || .433 || .337 || .834 || 3.3 || 2.4 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 20.9
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 32 || 32 || 34.7 || .433 || .337 || .834 || 3.3 || 2.4 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 20.9
2008–2009
Gordon announced on April 4, 2008 at 4:00pm at the Jewish Community CenterJewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
that he would enter the 2008 NBA Draft
2008 NBA Draft
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008 at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including...
. ESPN analyst Chad Ford ranked Gordon as one of the top ten players in this draft class. He was drafted with the seventh pick in the 2008 NBA Draft
2008 NBA Draft
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008 at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including...
by the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. Gordon scored 23 points in his first NBA Summer League
NBA Summer League
The NBA Summer League is a period during which NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups. Typically, there is a mix of rookies and some of the younger bench players to see how well some players work with others...
game in the Las Vegas summer league on the campus of UNLV. Gordon played in two summer league games where he averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds. Gordon injured his hamstring July 12 against the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
. It was confirmed on July 13, 2008 by the Clippers that Gordon would miss the rest of summer league due to a strained left hamstring.
However, at the start of the 2008 NBA pre-season, Gordon made his offensive prowess known in only his second exhibition game, scoring 33 points in 31 minutes to help the Clippers defeat the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
116–112. On January 23, he set a Clippers franchise record for most points scored by a rookie with 41 points (a record since broken by Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association . Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father, Tommy Griffin, who was the...
). With Gordon's exceptional performance, he was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. He averaged 16.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals in 34.3 minutes per game and was the third leading scorer among all rookies. For his efforts, he was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie Second Team
NBA All-Rookie Team
The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Rookie Team is generally...
and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
2009–2010
Gordon participated in the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend. During the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend, Gordon and DeMar DeRozanDeMar DeRozan
DeMar Darnell DeRozan is an American professional basketball player, selected ninth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. DeRozan played college basketball at USC for the Trojans...
went head-to-head in the inaugural Sprite All-Star Slam Dunk-In, which took place at halftime of the Rookie Challenge. The fans went on to choose DeRozan as their vote to advance to the main event, the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest
Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, the same year the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA...
. Gordon was also selected to the sophomore team for the 2010 T-Mobile NBA Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam event.
Gordon finished second on his team with 16.9 points, averaged 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists in a team-high 36.0 minutes. He appeared in 62 games, and started in 60 games. He led his team in scoring 16 times, steals 17 times and minutes 16 times. Gordon scored 30+ points one time and had 20+ points 19 times. He was one of 27 players named to 2010-12 USA Men’s National Team Program.
2010–2011
After winning the gold medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship2010 FIBA World Championship
The 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
, Gordon was geared towards a breakout season. Gordon was on a scoring tear earlier in the season but was slowed down in his game against the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, with a hard foul committed by Andris Biedriņš
Andris Biedrinš
Andris Biedriņš is a Latvian professional basketball player who plays the power forward and center positions for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He was drafted by the Warriors with the 11th overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft.-FIBA career:...
, which forced Gordon (who was averaging 24.1 points per game before the injury) to be sidelined for 18 games. It was later revealed that Gordon had a sprained wrist with a bone chip fracture. Returning from an 18-game absence, Gordon had a solid performance with a win against the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
with 24 points. Gordon re-aggravated his sprained wrist the second game back against the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
, this time a hard foul committed by Timofey Mozgov
Timofey Mozgov
Timofey Pavlovich Mozgov is a Russian professional basketball player for Khimki Moscow Region of the Russian Professional Basketball League. He is tall and he weighs . He plays at the center position.-Pro career:Mozgov began his professional career with LenVo St...
, which gave Gordon a 6-game absence. Gordon's breakout season was hampered by injuries and he had to wear a wristband for the remainder of the season.
Gordon finished the season as the Clippers' second leading scorer, with 22.3 points per game. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Gordon scored 30+ points 8 times and had a streak of 20 or more points for 12 consecutive games.
International
In nine games played for Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championship2010 FIBA World Championship
The 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
in Istanbul, Turkey, Gordon averaged 8.6 points while finishing second on the team in three-pointers made (19) and second on the team in three-point percentage (.452, 19-42 3FG), helping the United States finish a perfect record of (9-0) en route to winning the gold medal.
Personal
Gordon is the son of Eric and Denise Gordon, and has two brothers, Evan and Eron. His brother Evan currently plays for the Arizona State Sun Devils.Community involvement
Gordon participated in the Junior Clippers and Fastbreak to Fitness programs during the 2008-09 season. Gordon worked with the Salvation Army Seimon Family Youth and Community Center to adopt families and provide them with a holiday dinner and gift distribution. Gordon took part in the Clippers Team work at the Table Thanksgiving event at St. Joseph Center in Venice where he helped distribute food baskets and turkeys to over 300 families.Regular season
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
| 78 || 65 || 34.3 || .456 || .389 || .854 || 2.6 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .4 || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
| 62 || 60 || 36.0 || .449 || .371|| .742 || 2.6 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .2 || 16.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers
| 56 || 56 || 37.4 || .450 || .364|| .825 || 2.9 || 4.4 || 1.3 || .3 || 22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 196 || 181 || 35.4 || .452 || .375 || .810 || 2.7 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .3 || 18.1
Regular season
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"! Stat
! High
! Opponent
! Date
|-
| Points
| 41
| vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
|
|-
| Field goals made
| 14
| vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
|
|-
| Field goals attempted
| 26
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Three-point field goals made
| 7
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Three-point field goals attempted
| 11
| vs. Portland Trail Blazers
|
|-
| Free throws made
| 16
| vs. New Jersey Nets
|
|-
| Free throws attempted
| 20
| vs. New Jersey Nets
|
|-
| Offensive rebounds
| 5
| vs. Philadelphia 76ers
|
|-
| Defensive rebounds
| 6
| vs. Memphis Grizzlies
|
|-
| Total rebounds
| 8
| vs. Los Angeles Lakers
|
|-
| Assists
| 11
| vs. San Antonio Spurs
|
|-
| Steals
| 5
| vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
|
|-
| Blocks
| 3
| vs. Utah Jazz
|
|-
| Minutes played
| 53
| vs. Utah Jazz
|
NBA
- NBA All-Rookie Second TeamNBA All-Rookie TeamThe NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Rookie Team is generally...
: 2009 - January 2009 Western ConferenceWestern Conference (NBA)Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....
Rookie of the Month
Overall achievements
- 2011 Indy Pro-Am Champion
- LA Sports Award for 2010 Greatest Moments
- 2010 FIBA World Championship2010 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
Gold Medalist - 2009 NBA All-Rookie Second TeamNBA All-Rookie TeamThe NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Rookie Team is generally...
- 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- 2008 First Team All-Big Ten
- 2008 Third Team All-American
- Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year 2007
- McDonald All-American 2007
- Jordan Brand All-American 2007
- Indiana Mr. Basketball 2007