Hoosier State of Mind
By Rivals Trove Correspondent
Colin Rajala
Eron Gordon understands what it takes to succeed playing basketball having seen his two older brothers, Evan and Eric, excel in college and in Eric's case play at the highest level in the National Basketball Association.
Evan, 24, attended Liberty University for two seasons and then spent two years at Arizona State University before transferring to Indiana University for a graduate season, while Eric, 26, a former Mr Basketball in Indiana played one year at Indiana University in the Big Ten before entering the NBA after his freshmen year and is now beginning his 7th season.
Gordon, 17, sees his brothers' prior accomplishments as both an advantage and a disadvantage saying, “there is always a give and take with things and the publicity they received helped get my talents recognized and helped get my name out there, but comparing yourself against two players like them is tough because they created such high expectations.”
Gordon recognizes the expectations are out of his control, but will look to his brothers’ experiences to guide him moving forward.
“They don’t have to tell me to work hard because they showed me that already. I think my brothers will be beneficial by sharing their experiences at the college level because there is only so much (first year) college players can truly know. They have the firsthand knowledge of what to expect. They will help me put myself in position to be the best player and person I can be.”
Beyond his brothers guidance, Gordon thinks he has two skills that will translate to the college game to earn him minutes right away, his versatility and ability to put the ball in the hoop.
Gordon standing six-foot-three weighting 170 pounds is a shooting guard that is an excellent scorer and can also help at the point because of his ability to see his teammates. Gordon excels on the break and gets to the rim in the half-court from a variety of areas. He can also spot up or score in transition.
“I think versatility is a key to being successful and for whatever reason it is an underrated aspect of the game. Opposing coaches will try and pick apart one or two things you do well so if you’re not versatile things can become undone and you will get exposed. In college losing one or two games can be the difference between making the tournament or not so you really need to have the ability to make adjustments and be interchangeable, which I can do when needed.”
Gordon, who said he has been watching Seton Hall for a couple of years, envisions his versatility fitting in well in the Pirates’ back-court. "Their guards work compatibly on the court having different skill sets while looking to exploit various opponent's weaknesses and deficiencies."
“Asking their guards to do a little bit of everything fits my game perfectly because it puts me in a situation where my abilities fit into their lineup in a few different ways. It plays into my versatility.”
At this point in the development of his game, Gordon sees his defense as the area he needs to improve, noting that while he believes he is fundamentally sound, he needs to be more active and aggressive on that side of the court.
“I am active, but high school players are nowhere near as talented as college players so I think I really need to bring it even more at the next level. Making guys work harder to score will help me earn minutes as a freshman or even a starting spot.”
Gordon has been impressed with Seton Hall’s ability to recruit and get commitments from a lot of high quality backcourt players; citing recent commit Myles Powell as an example. Gordon said playing with Powell would be a good situation for himself because they would have the ability to feed off of each other through Powell’s ability to shoot and Gordon’s ability to slash.
Grant Billmeier, Shaheen Holloway, Eron Gordon, Kevin Willard and Fred Hill pose during Gordon's official visit.
Gordon had a chance to hear first hand how he can help the Pirate make the NCAA Tournament speaking with Head Coach Kevin Willard and Associate Head Coach Shaheen Holloway while on his official visit last week.
“Seton Hall has always had really good guards. He (Holloway) was in the same situation as me when he was one of the best guards in the country so he understands what I am going through. He told me to pick the school that is best for me…I realize it is not which is the most glamorous school in name, it is all about the people and who will put me in the best position to succeed.”
Gordon, from Indianapolis, Ind., enjoyed his visit to the east coast, getting a chance to tour Seton Hall’s campus, the Prudential Center and New York City. His visit to campus was different from what he had experienced previously, as he attended classes at Seton Hall with 15 students, while no other campus he visited had a class smaller than 30 students. He noted that it was “just incredible to see the individual attention you get in the classroom at Seton Hall.”
Down the road in Newark Gordon was impressed with the Prudential Center. Having been in a few NBA arenas he was surprised with the size of the venue and the quality of the facility noting, “it is a unique situation because I don’t think there are too many other schools that can offer an NBA arena like that.”
In addition to Seton Hall, Gordon is considering Indiana, Nevada and Memphis. While Gordon looks forward to entering the next chapter in his basketball career, he is focused on the upcoming basketball season and “getting better every day” with his teammates at North Central High School in Indianapolis
Gordon does not have a timeline set for his commitment, saying that while he thinks all of his college options are solid, he wants to make sure he is comfortable with his decision. He stated that he wants to get the decision over with, but also wants to make sure he picks the place where he will be "most comfortable."
When it comes time to make his college decision Gordon makes it clear that he looks forward to the new experiences he will encounter, saying, “everyone wants to have their own identity and wants to choose their own path. It’s important for me to grow as a person and as a basketball player and to accomplish my goals on my own.”
By Rivals Trove Correspondent
Colin Rajala
Eron Gordon understands what it takes to succeed playing basketball having seen his two older brothers, Evan and Eric, excel in college and in Eric's case play at the highest level in the National Basketball Association.
Evan, 24, attended Liberty University for two seasons and then spent two years at Arizona State University before transferring to Indiana University for a graduate season, while Eric, 26, a former Mr Basketball in Indiana played one year at Indiana University in the Big Ten before entering the NBA after his freshmen year and is now beginning his 7th season.
Gordon, 17, sees his brothers' prior accomplishments as both an advantage and a disadvantage saying, “there is always a give and take with things and the publicity they received helped get my talents recognized and helped get my name out there, but comparing yourself against two players like them is tough because they created such high expectations.”
Gordon recognizes the expectations are out of his control, but will look to his brothers’ experiences to guide him moving forward.
“They don’t have to tell me to work hard because they showed me that already. I think my brothers will be beneficial by sharing their experiences at the college level because there is only so much (first year) college players can truly know. They have the firsthand knowledge of what to expect. They will help me put myself in position to be the best player and person I can be.”
Beyond his brothers guidance, Gordon thinks he has two skills that will translate to the college game to earn him minutes right away, his versatility and ability to put the ball in the hoop.
Gordon standing six-foot-three weighting 170 pounds is a shooting guard that is an excellent scorer and can also help at the point because of his ability to see his teammates. Gordon excels on the break and gets to the rim in the half-court from a variety of areas. He can also spot up or score in transition.
“I think versatility is a key to being successful and for whatever reason it is an underrated aspect of the game. Opposing coaches will try and pick apart one or two things you do well so if you’re not versatile things can become undone and you will get exposed. In college losing one or two games can be the difference between making the tournament or not so you really need to have the ability to make adjustments and be interchangeable, which I can do when needed.”
Gordon, who said he has been watching Seton Hall for a couple of years, envisions his versatility fitting in well in the Pirates’ back-court. "Their guards work compatibly on the court having different skill sets while looking to exploit various opponent's weaknesses and deficiencies."
“Asking their guards to do a little bit of everything fits my game perfectly because it puts me in a situation where my abilities fit into their lineup in a few different ways. It plays into my versatility.”
At this point in the development of his game, Gordon sees his defense as the area he needs to improve, noting that while he believes he is fundamentally sound, he needs to be more active and aggressive on that side of the court.
“I am active, but high school players are nowhere near as talented as college players so I think I really need to bring it even more at the next level. Making guys work harder to score will help me earn minutes as a freshman or even a starting spot.”
Gordon has been impressed with Seton Hall’s ability to recruit and get commitments from a lot of high quality backcourt players; citing recent commit Myles Powell as an example. Gordon said playing with Powell would be a good situation for himself because they would have the ability to feed off of each other through Powell’s ability to shoot and Gordon’s ability to slash.
Grant Billmeier, Shaheen Holloway, Eron Gordon, Kevin Willard and Fred Hill pose during Gordon's official visit.
Gordon had a chance to hear first hand how he can help the Pirate make the NCAA Tournament speaking with Head Coach Kevin Willard and Associate Head Coach Shaheen Holloway while on his official visit last week.
“Seton Hall has always had really good guards. He (Holloway) was in the same situation as me when he was one of the best guards in the country so he understands what I am going through. He told me to pick the school that is best for me…I realize it is not which is the most glamorous school in name, it is all about the people and who will put me in the best position to succeed.”
Gordon, from Indianapolis, Ind., enjoyed his visit to the east coast, getting a chance to tour Seton Hall’s campus, the Prudential Center and New York City. His visit to campus was different from what he had experienced previously, as he attended classes at Seton Hall with 15 students, while no other campus he visited had a class smaller than 30 students. He noted that it was “just incredible to see the individual attention you get in the classroom at Seton Hall.”
Down the road in Newark Gordon was impressed with the Prudential Center. Having been in a few NBA arenas he was surprised with the size of the venue and the quality of the facility noting, “it is a unique situation because I don’t think there are too many other schools that can offer an NBA arena like that.”
In addition to Seton Hall, Gordon is considering Indiana, Nevada and Memphis. While Gordon looks forward to entering the next chapter in his basketball career, he is focused on the upcoming basketball season and “getting better every day” with his teammates at North Central High School in Indianapolis
Gordon does not have a timeline set for his commitment, saying that while he thinks all of his college options are solid, he wants to make sure he is comfortable with his decision. He stated that he wants to get the decision over with, but also wants to make sure he picks the place where he will be "most comfortable."
When it comes time to make his college decision Gordon makes it clear that he looks forward to the new experiences he will encounter, saying, “everyone wants to have their own identity and wants to choose their own path. It’s important for me to grow as a person and as a basketball player and to accomplish my goals on my own.”
