Found March 22, 2008 on Hoopraker:
78674496
The drift of Eric Gordon from peerless national regard and King Hoosier to passive, disconsolate underachiever, a trend that had a sad culmination last night in Raleigh, was one of the most disheartening stories of the year.

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Comments (12)
  • bob_sanderz
    Placard_complete_small
    Dont blame the kid, blame the firing of Kelvin Sampson.
  • kgoon1590
    I would go one step further and just blame Kelvin Sampson. But then again, the Gordons took a big risk in switching out. He can still have a fruitful career in the NBA.
    • fr0arenas
      Placard_complete_small
      Not necessarily. He would have had a lot less to work with at Illinois. Not to mention, he would have to worked equally as hard to lift that squad. But as always, Sports are based on ''TEAM CONCEPT'' and it takes more than an ''ARMY OF ONE'' to propel a team to find themselves to make them better.
      • kgoon1590
        The risk was Sampson. He had a reputation.
  • HomeRunBaller
    Eric Gordon is still a fine player, this kind of stuff just happens in college sports. People expect college athletes to have completely refined games and professional-level skills, but most players take time to develop. This isn't the end of Eric Gordon's story.
  • fr0arenas
    Placard_complete_small
    I'm tired of all the Eric Gordon bashing! I'm not saying that my YB family is doing it, But there have been really bad comments on how he did this and shoulda did that. The Young man is gonna have a great career whether it is one more year at Indiana, or The next Level. There isn't one athlete on this planet amateur or pro, who hasn't had a so called ''Game of there Nightmare!'' And believe it or not, he is gonna have a few more in his lifetime. The loss hurt, but he will more than bounce back from this. Funny thing is, that the haters who are hating will soon be endorsing him when he starts riding cloud nine again. He will be just fine.
  • KatKat
    Placard_complete_small
    I agree with Fr0arenas. You gotta remember these guys, regardless of how talented they are, are just kids. Unless you have played at that level and endured the type of scrutiny and upheaval that the Kelvin Sampson debacle brought to the Indiana program, then I would caution you to have a little - dare I say - compassion. Everyone has good games and bad. Eric Gordon's not-so-good game just happen to come at a time when he and the program were under the microscope of the NCAA tournament. Unfortunate, but his game will mature and get more consistent.
  • BlondeMeg34
    Eric Gordon is the most overrated freshman player in the league. Yeah he started out hot, big deal. But he can't convert when he needs to. I think I heard he was 7 of 50 from behind the arc in the last 6 games. 50!!! thats terrible! and when you don't play like a team.. and just rely on DJ and EJ to win games, you lose.

    THERE IS NO I IN TEAM!

    There are reasons why there were so many upsets in the first round. It's because the school's without superstars, and even ones with them, understand the word TEAM. So, stay in college EJ, you still have a lot to learn, little boy.
  • MindRiteSports
  • Go pro EJ, and arch is the whole key to getting your shot back. That offense....so dumb all year.
    Not one pick and roll with EJ and DJ...not one time did Gordon post up some twig that was attempting to cover him. Our offense consisted of EJ running around in a circle to end up at the L to split 2 defenders to get to the hole. Made no sense at all...from start to finish. Other than EJ...our defense was awful all year long...For EJ...the slump is not going to kill his draft status. All that matters now is the workouts at the Moody Bible Institute...and for whatever team checks him out. A great defender...he will be great...but needs to play POINT....and work at moving without the ball. DJ White will be a great pro...total work-horse...and barely ever off...and way less stupid fouls this year.
    Now... I love IU, but take a good look...IU is a total trainwreck of a program. Let's admit it, we are horrible from top to bottom. I also bet half this team transfers.
    Not only was EJ way off since Kelvin "Sanction" got canned...so was Crawford and Ellis.
    On paper...we should have beaten lots of teams. Think about it...we had more
    talent than the 1987 team. Talent on paper does not always translate to WINS.
    We needed to play together as a team, and never came together. DJ played great from start to finish.
    Going out in public and announcing that we are seeking a new coach...WHILE the team
    is still playing....says it all....totally out of touch with the players, coaches and fans.
    Terrible P.R. We may not land a blue chip for a long time now....again...which is a good thing I think.
    Let's get the Alford's, Cheaney's, Coverdale's, and 4 year players going again.
    Get rid of the A.D...he is .horrible. He is to blame for the whole mess that is IU basketball.
    We are a joke of a program...we used to be a force.
    No one fears us....they just laugh at IU now. Everytime I think we can have a good year, we
    end up looking like a monkey ***'ing a football out there. Horrible. I bet Bobby Knight and Mike Davis are dying laughing at IU's bumbling right now.
    • KatKat
      Placard_complete_small
      Dude... Wow. I feel for ya. Good call on the offense, though, especially getting Gordon on the block in mismatches. He's powerful. Hang in there. UNC endured the Dougherty years, but look at us now. You guys will bounce back.
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