By Lauren Silva, Special to SI.com, from RISE
There's always a danger when Eric Gordon steps on the basketball court.
Of course, North Central's star senior shooting guard brings the kind of weapons you'd expect from one of the nation's top players: a deadly outside shot, an ability to defend against any position on the floor and the power to throw down awe-inspiring dunks. But one of Gordon's biggest threats is something he can't even control -- the ability to make opponents forget to play their game.
"You catch yourself on the floor watching [him] while you're in the game," says North Central coach Doug Mitchell, who was a victim of a similar hazard while playing college ball for Butler against Indiana State's Larry Bird in the late 1970s. "It's very difficult to guard against."
While it's way too early to put Gordon in the same pantheon as the Hick from French Lick, there's no doubt he has that same ability to command attention, whether his audience is in the crowd or on the court.
"His athletic ability is unparalleled," says Mitchell. "He reminds me of a smaller version of LeBron -- that power, that ability to get up so quick. He's a whole different level."
Gordon, a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder who's rated the nation's No. 4 recruit in the Class of 2007 by RISE, may draw a crowd because of his athleticism, but coaches and scouts are most infatuated by his mastery of the game's fundamentals, a trait that speaks to his strong determination and work ethic rather than his innate talent. It's an aspect of Gordon's game that Mitchell saw back when the young phenom was in third grade and reminds the coach of an era when players such as Bird ruled the courts.
"It wasn't about the flair, it was about doing things the right way," says Mitchell, who notes that spectacular dunks aside, Gordon has kept that mindset while rising up the national ranks. "Today's flamboyant style, he doesn't get caught up in that. He just works hard. He's definitely a throwback."
For that, Gordon can thank his father, Eric Gordon Sr., a former Liberty University standout who coached his son from second to sixth grade.
When Eric Jr., or E.J. as he's nicknamed, was 5 years old, his dad put him on two teams. One was an advanced league with 7- and 8-year-olds so E.J. could test his skills against stronger competition. The other was a recreational league with players his own age so E.J. could build his confidence.
No matter where his son played, Gordon Sr. wouldn't let him shoot unless it was a layup. Instead, he encouraged E.J. to focus on passing and dribbling, skills every guard must master. So in eighth grade, when E.J. finally turned his attention to scoring, everything fell into place.
"They say the best thing when you have athletic ability is to be the best fundamentally," says the younger Gordon, who originally committed to Illinois but changed his mind and picked Indiana in October. "Once you get that, you can be hard to stop."
Gordon is certainly proof of that, though he's too humble a player to say so himself. Perhaps that's because when you've grown up facing phenoms like O.J. Mayo in national tournaments and playing alongside future NBA big men like Greg Oden and Josh McRoberts on AAU teams, being unstoppable isn't remarkable, it's necessary.
"To him, it's all expected," says Gordon Sr. "He doesn't think, 'I'm better than this ballplayer or that ballplayer.' It's like, 'This is what I'm supposed to do.'"
Case in point: In his own area, the younger Gordon has been overshadowed for the past two years by Oden, a Lawrence North grad who was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2006, and McRoberts, a Carmel grad who was the No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2005. Like Mitchell says, "Great players are the norm around here. There's no wow factor."
With Oden now a freshman at Ohio State and McRoberts entering his sophomore season at Duke, Gordon should have the spotlight to himself in Greater Indy this season. But nationally, Gordon is still eclipsed by the hype surrounding Mayo, a point guard out of Huntington (Huntington, W.Va.) who is rated the nation's top recruit in the Class of 2007 by RISE and is the Magic Johnson to Gordon's Bird.
But like Bird did with Magic, Gordon uses his friendly rivalry with Mayo to push his game to new heights. After averaging 26.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a junior, Gordon entered the summer circuit with the goal of overcoming Mayo to become the top player in the nation and did everything in his power to put himself in consideration for that spot.
Gordon shrugged off criticism -- whether it was from those who disapproved of his decision to play in an all-star exhibition series instead of with USA Basketball's Under-18 National Team or from those who faulted the former Illini recruit for looking at Indiana once Kelvin Sampson took over the Hoosiers -- to become the leading scorer at nearly every event he attended this past summer. In July alone, Gordon was named co-MVP of the adidas Superstar Camp, won a team championship at the Nike Peach Jam and set a record for total points scored (262) at the Reebok Big Time Tournament.
Riding that success, Gordon enters his senior season at North Central with the even loftier goal of winning a state championship. It's a feat that has eluded the Panthers since 1999. For Gordon, who lost to Lawrence North in the regional finals his freshman and sophomore years and to Carmel in the sectional finals last year, it would be the final jewel in his already well-adorned crown.
Gordon will get help from one Panther in particular this season: younger brother Evan, a sophomore who will compete for the starting point guard spot.
Evan, who in his spare time hones his skills with E.J. and their youngest brother, Eron, has already seen his fair share of The Eric Gordon Show. So hopefully, come game time, Evan will be immune to the desire to stop and stare.
Other players won't be so lucky -- it's a performance that's too good to miss.
