Eric Gordon is as smooth as sweet cream spilling across a waxed floor. He lurks, hovers and never exhibits a desperate sense of urgency in a maelstrom of surging bodies. His face is a blank slate, his every action appears measured and, even after delivering a spectacular play, he indulges in no histrionics.
“That’s how I play,” he says. “I like to play hard each play and work hard. … Gesturing, I’m not really used to it. I’m not a person who draws attention from the crowd. I’m not really into that. It’s nothing bad. But I just was never really into it.”
That attitude alone makes him a rare breed, which is surely one way to describe Indiana’s freshman guard. He has been hyped and heralded since he was in the 8th grade. But even now, as one of the most celebrated members of a highly acclaimed freshman class, he remains aware of what is really important.
Those are the beliefs formed on first viewing, which provided ample testimony to support them. Even when the Hoosiers trailed Tuesday night against overmatched North Carolina-Wilmington, Gordon refused to force a shot. He instead did what all coaches preach and let the game come to him. Even after he picked up his second foul with just more than five minutes gone, he remained an effective defender. He simply adjusted and went from playing on the ball to denying the ball.
He scored, of course, collecting two of his 30 points on a dynamic coast-to-coast dash that he punctuated with a thunderous dunk. He followed that play by simply collecting himself, regaining his balance, turning and running up the court. He ended his night with a game-high six assists, a game-high three steals, 13 trips to the foul line and only a dozen shots.
“How many kids get 30 points on just 12 shots?” Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson asks.
Not many was the answer to that rhetorical question, nor do many operate with the cool aplomb Gordon demonstrates. There is a maturity to his game far beyond his 18 years, an economy to his actions that is both efficient and effective. He seems incapable of even sweating.
“Oh, he sweats,” Sampson says, and that is another virtue Gordon possesses.
He looks like a natural, looks like he isn’t trying, looks like he can accomplish even the most obdurate task without the strain mere mortals need. But Sampson then told how that afternoon, Gordon appeared at the gym early and put up 300 shots even before his team’s scheduled shootaround began.
Eight days earlier, after his prodigy scored 33 in his Indiana debut, Sampson had compared his work ethic to that of Magic Johnson, whom he had viewed as a graduate assistant at Michigan State.
“The thing I remember about Magic,” Sampson says, “he had a health class right before practice started at 3. He used to get out around 1:50. He’d leave there and go get dressed. He always wore a gray T-shirt underneath his green Spartan jersey. By the time practice started on most days, that T-shirt was soaking wet.
“It’s a great lesson to kids everywhere. You tend to look at talented people and say, ‘Well, he was born with it.’ [Gordon] has earned the right to be this good. God has blessed him. But his attitude and his work ethic are tremendous. He’ll be as good as he continues to choose to be. Right now, he chooses to be great, and he has earned that.
“There are a lot of areas he can get better in. But when we break down film, bring it in, watch it, he has a wonderful attitude. He’s an easy kid to coach.”
That is the kid who broke Illinois’ heart when he reneged on his oral commitment, the same kid who will appear with the Hoosiers on Friday and Saturday at the Sears Centre in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. His number is Michael Jordan’s familiar 23, a bow to the man he grew up watching, but his game and his understated maturity are surely unusual for one so young.
What about the appearance that things come to him easily?
“I try to let the game come to me,” he says. “I’m not trying to force anything, [I try to] get teammates involved instead of having the ball in my hands and trying to create. It’s good to do that sometimes. It’s better to learn how to play off the ball sometimes.”
Does he ever get flustered?
“No. I don’t let too many things get to me,” he says. “I don’t really get flustered.”
Does the attention from fans bother him?
“It’s just great,” he says. “People like to watch, people follow you. I just like how people … see what I do. I enjoy it. I always try to be a difference-maker.”
Says Sampson: “He’s not very vocal now. He’s a quiet kid. He’s very humble. He’s almost shy. But when the game starts, there’s nothing shy about him.”
– – –
Chicago Invitational Challenge
At the Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates
FRIDAY
UNC-Wilmington (1-2) vs. Longwood (2-3), noon
Southeast Missouri State (2-2) vs. Coppin State (2-2), 2:30
Xavier (2-1) vs. Kent State (3-1), 5
Indiana (3-0) vs. Illinois St. (3-0), 7:30
SATURDAY
Matchups determined after Friday’s results. Games will be at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
———-
smyslenski@tribune.com
