POSTED AT 12:00 AM ON Oct. 13, 2006 | PRINT | Email | SHARE | COMMENTS (0)

Top recruit Eric Gordon, Jr. switched his verbal commitment to Indiana from Illinois, according to reports from the Indianapolis Star and Chicago Tribune. The North Central High School senior is the No. 1-rated shooting guard in the nation according to Rivals.com.

"Both coaches are great," Eric Gordon Sr., Gordon's father told the Indianapolis Star according to an article posted on its Web site Friday morning. "(Illinois) Coach (Bruce) Weber has a great program. Indiana has been down, but programs go through that. Indiana is 45 minutes away. Eighty-five percent of North Central students go there. He's right at home. Adjusting to IU will be easy. If you're there four years, great. If it's three, two, one — for him this will be an easy transition from high school to college. If you say basketball is a wash and you look at the school, the location, everything, he's made the best decision. I have to say Indiana is the best place for him."

The announcement comes after months of speculation as to whether Gordon would change his verbal commitment to Illinois once IU coach Kelvin Sampson took over the head coaching position from former coach Mike Davis at IU in March.

Gordon will be attending Hoosier Hysteria Friday night at Assembly Hall and is expected to formally announce his decision, according to the Indianapolis Star.