https://setonhall.rivals.com/
By JP Pelzman
Derrick Gordon’s reputation had preceded him by the time the former Plainfield resident and St. Patrick standout joined the Seton Hall program back in 2015.
And that reputation was one of excellence and hard-nosed play on the court and social conscience off it. The mature Gordon, 29 days shy of his 24th birthday when Seton Hall took the court for its season opener at the Prudential Center against Dartmouth on Nov. 13, 2015, already had helped both Western Kentucky and Massachusetts reach the NCAA Tournament.
But prior to his Pirate debut, in April 2014, Gordon made the courageous decision to come out, becoming the first openly gay player in Division I men’s basketball to reveal the truth about his sexuality while still playing. Against this backdrop, it’s easy to see the gravitas Gordon carried, and why his Pirates teammates were willing to listen to what he had to say that fall despite the fact he was a newcomer.
“I knew what it took to get to (the NCAAs) and I knew everybody had to be on board and at the beginning of the season I called a meeting,” Gordon, now living in Los Angeles, recalled in a recent phone interview with PirateCrew.com. “It was more to make sure everyone was on the same page and how we can’t worry about individual stats because winning is more important. And I think those guys bought into that. If we win, everyone gets looks (from the pros).
“And it’s just my nature in general,” he added. “It’s why I was a leader at Western Kentucky, I was a leader at UMass. I knew once I asserted myself with my play on the court, they would respect me for being that leader because of what I'm capable of doing on the court.”
As Seton Hall’s sixth man, Gordon started only four games for a team that went 25-9. He averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists, but his biggest value came in his leadership and his lock-down defense. Gordon was one of the few sixth men who could enter a game and change its tone and tempo more on the defensive end than on the offensive side.
“I can do it on both sides of the floor,” he said, “and that’s what I love about my game. I can score the ball and I can defend and I cared more about winning than about individual stats. It showed at Western Kentucky, it showed at UMass, it showed at Seton Hall and to be able to accomplish something like that shows the type of player that I am and what I'm able to bring to a team.”
Gordon scored 14 points on opening night versus Dartmouth and later had a season-high 15 in a win at Providence on Jan. 16, one of his four starts. Gordon had eight points and four assists in a 79-60 rout of St. John’s on Jan. 27, a victory which began a run of 12 wins in 14 games. It culminated with the thrilling 69-67 victory over Villanova in the championship game of the Big East tournament. Fittingly, the win was finalized on an old-school three-point play by star guard Isaiah Whitehead, who had carried the Pirates offensively down the stretch.
Seton Hall (25-8 at that moment) had secured its first Big East tourney title since 1993 and its first NCAA berth since 2006. But the euphoria lasted only about 18 or so hours before the NCAA bracket bizarrely leaked out on the internet prior to the official and heavily delayed (for TV) announcement. Seton Hall was seeded only sixth, and worse yet, would face an under-seeded, tournament-tested Gonzaga team. Made even more difficult being that game would take place late Thursday night in mile-high Denver, a scant five days after the exhilarating win against the hated Wildcats.
Gordon had played in Denver as a Western Kentucky freshman when both teams were in the Sun Belt Conference. None of his teammates had played there. And even though coach Kevin Willard wisely flew his team to Colorado early Tuesday to adjust, Gordon couldn’t help but worry.
“It was very hard to breathe,” he said of his experience as a freshman playing in Colorado, “but I adjusted to it. I got used to it. These guys, they weren’t used to it. I was a little nervous about it. Practice speed and game speed are a lot different. I told them if only we would have ended up anywhere else, why couldn’t they have put us in New York.”
First-weekend brackets at the Barclays Center or the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence certainly would have been far friendlier. Whitehead was particularly bothered by the altitude and the wingspan of the Gonzaga defenders, shooting 4-for-24 and 0-for-10 from long distance in his final collegiate game before turning pro. Gordon was 4-for-10 and scored 10 points in what also was his last college game, a 68-52 loss.
“I still don’t regret anything,” Gordon said, his voice turning more upbeat. “It was a great year and it was a lot of fun. Our confidence was high (after beating Villanova) and that’s why I was so disappointed when we ended up in Denver. We beat a team that ended up winning it all that year, which is what really sucks. I mean, we beat those guys, which means we could’ve beaten anybody else.
“And that’s something that’s always going to be hard to swallow,” he added. “But I will say this. Beating Villanova before I ended my college career, I can live with that. I don’t like Villanova. I don’t like them. It's just more of a competition type of thing. I'm very competitive, as you know. They were always talking--talking, talking, talking, talking, talking, and I don’t mind that, I don’t mind that at all. You know how people don’t like Duke, that’s how it was for me with Villanova. I'm the type that always wants to play against the best and beat the best.”
Gordon added, “If I could do that whole year over again I would because it was just incredible.
“They all just bought into it. There weren’t any conflicts. That’s what I loved about that group. We had such a bond, not only on the court but off the court. We'd go to the movies, hang out together, do all that stuff. That’s why we did what we did on the court because we had that unique bond.”
And it all started at the top.
“I love Coach Willard. He was by far the best coach I ever played for,” Gordon said.
As for the entire season, he said, “It was a big deal, let alone being the first openly gay college basketball player, taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, that just shows the type of player that I am. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a winner. … (2016) was such a fun experience, as you can tell from my past social media posts.”
He recently has been posting highlights from that magical season on his Twitter feed. Gordon says he still speaks a lot with Khadeen Carrington, Whitehead from time to time and Desi Rodriguez occasionally, “mainly Deeno,” he said.
Gordon said, “I want to thank everyone at Seton Hall for supporting me to this day.”
The feeling is mutual.
Part 2 to follow.
By JP Pelzman
Derrick Gordon’s reputation had preceded him by the time the former Plainfield resident and St. Patrick standout joined the Seton Hall program back in 2015.
And that reputation was one of excellence and hard-nosed play on the court and social conscience off it. The mature Gordon, 29 days shy of his 24th birthday when Seton Hall took the court for its season opener at the Prudential Center against Dartmouth on Nov. 13, 2015, already had helped both Western Kentucky and Massachusetts reach the NCAA Tournament.
But prior to his Pirate debut, in April 2014, Gordon made the courageous decision to come out, becoming the first openly gay player in Division I men’s basketball to reveal the truth about his sexuality while still playing. Against this backdrop, it’s easy to see the gravitas Gordon carried, and why his Pirates teammates were willing to listen to what he had to say that fall despite the fact he was a newcomer.
“I knew what it took to get to (the NCAAs) and I knew everybody had to be on board and at the beginning of the season I called a meeting,” Gordon, now living in Los Angeles, recalled in a recent phone interview with PirateCrew.com. “It was more to make sure everyone was on the same page and how we can’t worry about individual stats because winning is more important. And I think those guys bought into that. If we win, everyone gets looks (from the pros).
“And it’s just my nature in general,” he added. “It’s why I was a leader at Western Kentucky, I was a leader at UMass. I knew once I asserted myself with my play on the court, they would respect me for being that leader because of what I'm capable of doing on the court.”
As Seton Hall’s sixth man, Gordon started only four games for a team that went 25-9. He averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists, but his biggest value came in his leadership and his lock-down defense. Gordon was one of the few sixth men who could enter a game and change its tone and tempo more on the defensive end than on the offensive side.
“I can do it on both sides of the floor,” he said, “and that’s what I love about my game. I can score the ball and I can defend and I cared more about winning than about individual stats. It showed at Western Kentucky, it showed at UMass, it showed at Seton Hall and to be able to accomplish something like that shows the type of player that I am and what I'm able to bring to a team.”
Gordon scored 14 points on opening night versus Dartmouth and later had a season-high 15 in a win at Providence on Jan. 16, one of his four starts. Gordon had eight points and four assists in a 79-60 rout of St. John’s on Jan. 27, a victory which began a run of 12 wins in 14 games. It culminated with the thrilling 69-67 victory over Villanova in the championship game of the Big East tournament. Fittingly, the win was finalized on an old-school three-point play by star guard Isaiah Whitehead, who had carried the Pirates offensively down the stretch.
Seton Hall (25-8 at that moment) had secured its first Big East tourney title since 1993 and its first NCAA berth since 2006. But the euphoria lasted only about 18 or so hours before the NCAA bracket bizarrely leaked out on the internet prior to the official and heavily delayed (for TV) announcement. Seton Hall was seeded only sixth, and worse yet, would face an under-seeded, tournament-tested Gonzaga team. Made even more difficult being that game would take place late Thursday night in mile-high Denver, a scant five days after the exhilarating win against the hated Wildcats.
Gordon had played in Denver as a Western Kentucky freshman when both teams were in the Sun Belt Conference. None of his teammates had played there. And even though coach Kevin Willard wisely flew his team to Colorado early Tuesday to adjust, Gordon couldn’t help but worry.
“It was very hard to breathe,” he said of his experience as a freshman playing in Colorado, “but I adjusted to it. I got used to it. These guys, they weren’t used to it. I was a little nervous about it. Practice speed and game speed are a lot different. I told them if only we would have ended up anywhere else, why couldn’t they have put us in New York.”
First-weekend brackets at the Barclays Center or the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence certainly would have been far friendlier. Whitehead was particularly bothered by the altitude and the wingspan of the Gonzaga defenders, shooting 4-for-24 and 0-for-10 from long distance in his final collegiate game before turning pro. Gordon was 4-for-10 and scored 10 points in what also was his last college game, a 68-52 loss.
“I still don’t regret anything,” Gordon said, his voice turning more upbeat. “It was a great year and it was a lot of fun. Our confidence was high (after beating Villanova) and that’s why I was so disappointed when we ended up in Denver. We beat a team that ended up winning it all that year, which is what really sucks. I mean, we beat those guys, which means we could’ve beaten anybody else.
“And that’s something that’s always going to be hard to swallow,” he added. “But I will say this. Beating Villanova before I ended my college career, I can live with that. I don’t like Villanova. I don’t like them. It's just more of a competition type of thing. I'm very competitive, as you know. They were always talking--talking, talking, talking, talking, talking, and I don’t mind that, I don’t mind that at all. You know how people don’t like Duke, that’s how it was for me with Villanova. I'm the type that always wants to play against the best and beat the best.”
Gordon added, “If I could do that whole year over again I would because it was just incredible.
“They all just bought into it. There weren’t any conflicts. That’s what I loved about that group. We had such a bond, not only on the court but off the court. We'd go to the movies, hang out together, do all that stuff. That’s why we did what we did on the court because we had that unique bond.”
And it all started at the top.
“I love Coach Willard. He was by far the best coach I ever played for,” Gordon said.
As for the entire season, he said, “It was a big deal, let alone being the first openly gay college basketball player, taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, that just shows the type of player that I am. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a winner. … (2016) was such a fun experience, as you can tell from my past social media posts.”
He recently has been posting highlights from that magical season on his Twitter feed. Gordon says he still speaks a lot with Khadeen Carrington, Whitehead from time to time and Desi Rodriguez occasionally, “mainly Deeno,” he said.
Gordon said, “I want to thank everyone at Seton Hall for supporting me to this day.”
The feeling is mutual.
Part 2 to follow.
