How Good Is Eric Gordon?

So, just how good is Eric Gordon? Well, "good" is not the word that I would start with. "Great" might be where I would start and if I had a better vocabulary, there would be some additional fancy superlatives that would be appropriate. I've been trying not to over hype the freshman phenom after only one game in an IU uniform, but I can't stop myself. As the passionate Hoosier fans that we are, we have to really enjoy it when things are going well because we certainly are a miserable bunch when things are not going so great. It's now been 72 hours since Gordon's debut and as I reflect on his performance, I am more and more impressed. We knew we were getting a great offensive talent and he certainly delivered offensively. And as mentioned in the post-game recap, I was pleasantly surprised with the way he stepped up his on-the-ball defense to really turn the tide of the game. But there was one area that potentially concerned me about Gordon and that was that maybe he was too laid back and maybe he was too even keeled. Would he have the fire inside to put the team on his back and take over a game? Would he show the attitude and intensity to will this team to victory? Because I expected a nice easy win in the first game, I certainly did not think we would get answers to the above questions in Gordon's first game. But not only did we get those answers in Gordon's first game, he provided those answers with a resounding yes. After scoring an impressive 15 points in the first half but still finding his team losing, Gordon took the game over in the second half. He poured in an additional 18 points, threw down a thunderous dunk to get the crowd going, played tough and aggressive defense, and had a fiery look in his eye. It was that look and a little bit of attitude that made me realize that this is truly a special player. So, there you go, now I have over hyped him. I'm sure he will have games when he struggles, but he has such a well-rounded game that he has other options. For example, if he can't get his jumper to fall, he can take it to the basket and try to get to the line. Another impressive characteristic is that Sampson says that Gordon doesn't go through many highs and lows, he just simply works hard all the time. I am incredibly anxious to watch Gordon and the Hoosiers play again. On the national scene, Gordon is not the only freshman having an early impact. There are some very talented freshmen across the nation. After two games, Michael Beasley of Kansas State is averaging 31 points and 19 rebounds. Kevin Love of UCLA is averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds. Those two big guys were usually in the top 3 or 4 ranked recruits in the nation and appear to be very good players. Then there was the comparison of O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon and the debate of who should be rated higher at the guard position. They are both extremely talented shooting guards. However, after watching a couple high school all-star games, I quickly knew that we had the better player. From just those all-star games, you could tell Mayo was a "me" player and Gordon was a team player and a winner. Thus far, we only have one game of evidence of college ball and at quick glance, both players had pretty even debuts. Gordon had 33 points and Mayo had 32 points. The interesting statistic was that Mayo launched 27 shots to get his 32 points, while Gordon only needed 15 attempts to get 33 points. If Mayo wasn't shooting, he was turning it over as he chalked up 8 turnovers in his debut. Oh, and one more thing, Mayo's team (USC) lost. It looks like Mayo played his second game tonight and he only took 12 shots for 16 points, but he had another 5 turnovers. It seems there are plenty of other freshmen making a big splash -- a freshman from N.C. State tonight scored 30+ on perfect 12-for-12 shooting, Syracuse has a couple talented freshmen, Derrick Rose is looking good at Memphis, and the Big Ten has some nice looking rookies as well with Kosta Koufas at Ohio State and Purdue's top 5 class. Even with all these other freshmen making headlines, I have to tell you that I couldn't be happier with our boy, Eric Gordon. Go Hoosiers!