From D.J. to E.J.

One’s a senior. The other, a freshman. \nOne’s 6-foot-9. The other, 6-foot-4 (on a good day).\nOne’s nicknamed D.J. The other, E.J. \nBoth are superstars in their own right and potential NBA Draft picks. \nAnd both will give the same answer for who is the leader of the team. \nSure, D.J. White and Eric Gordon could be All-Americans when all is said and done, and Gordon might get more highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter. But if you ask the Indianapolis-native who is the star of the team, there is no hesitation. \n“It is D.J.’s team,” Gordon said. “He has been here for four years, and from all the publicity that he has been getting. He is the captain, and he leads us in practice and in games. He is our biggest factor.”\nWhite and Gordon have no qualms about sharing the spotlight in Bloomington – and that’s because they will help each other out. Last year, White could have used a skilled ball handler who could create his own offense off the dribble. Heading into his first year in college, Gordon could use a big man who can help relieve pressure when he slashes toward the basket. \nIt’s a win-win for the pair and a win-win for Hoosier Nation.\nWhite and Gordon have given many IU fans reason to smile. Some fans are hoping for highlight reel plays. Others, another Big Ten Championship. Others still, a sixth NCAA Championship banner to hang from the rafters at Assembly Hall. \nIf you ask both players, none of that is out of the realm of possibility.\n“This year’s team, we’ve got a lot of expectations from the fans and everybody,” Gordon said. “They know we’re going to have a really talented team this year, and I think we really do have a good team this year, just from playing with them for the first game and from practices.”\nWhite has done his part to mentor Gordon, ranked as the No. 2 high school prospect in his class by recruiting Web site www.rivals.com.\nBut White is quick to admit the star freshman doesn’t need a whole lot of help. Gordon is shy by nature, and doesn’t get caught up in the hoopla of a major college program. He is down to earth.\n“Credit for that goes to his mother and father,” said IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. “He is very modest, very humble. He works at the same pace everyday. He doesn’t have a lot of highs and lows. He is pretty steady in everything he does. He comes in early; he works late. When you have a person of his ability level and his attitude, that is when you start getting into the `special’ stratosphere. The sky is the limit for that young man because of his attitude, his humbleness.”\nGordon made headlines before coming to IU because of the way he was recruited. In November of his junior year in high school, Gordon verbally committed to play for Bruce Weber at Illinois. But once former IU coach Mike Davis resigned, Gordon reopened his commitment and looked at IU, though he didn’t tell Weber. Sampson never told the Illinois coach either. \nGordon committed to IU in October of his senior year, and Weber and others criticized Sampson for his handling of the situation. Internet fan message boards blasted Sampson, Gordon and his family for the entire debacle. \nBut Gordon is quick to dismiss a Feb. 7 date in Champaign, Ill. Sampson, too, said he is past the matter. And Sampson praises Gordon for his all-around maturity. \n“The thing I like most about Eric Gordon is that as good of a player he is, he is a better person,” Sampson said. “He’s a good teammate and an easy person to coach. Humble, quiet and almost unassuming. It’s refreshing the way he goes about his work. He works his tail off. If I told him to run through that wall, he’d say, ‘Coach, can I get a running start?’ Those are the kind of kids you want to coach.”\nGordon and White are the campus’ two most popular celebrities, according to the Indiana Daily Student’s Weekend magazine Best of Bloomington poll. But both say they try to be humble and kind when dealing with fellow students and other fans. \n“I just don’t worry about it, because you’ll see a lot of professionals in the NBA that might act ignorant or just anything like that,” Gordon said. “I’ve just been taught to treat people with respect, because they might down the line help you in the future. They would just say ‘He is a better person than just playing basketball.’” \nGordon said the hype around him has tapered since he first arrived on campus, but White said that public attention doesn’t completely disappear. \n“I still face it today, whenever you’re out in the public,” White said. “This whole town loves basketball. You’ve just got to be a good person. Even though it might bother you sometimes, you can’t show that it bothers you. Just speak, be nice and continue what you were doing. That is just how I was brought up, just nice to everyone. That comes along with it if you want to be successful, just being a nice person about it.”\nThough the public attention hasn’t changed since White came to IU in 2004, his personality has changed. And his coach is quick to point that out. \nEntering his senior year, Sampson said White is more confident than he’s ever been. Sampson said he knew that from the time White took the court representing the United States in the Pan American Games this summer. \n“A good player should walk into the gym like he owns it,” Sampson said. “It’s an attitude. You throw your shoulders back and stick your chest out as if you’re saying, ‘Who wants a piece of me?’ He had that.”\nAnd though a focused, talented freshman might put up more points and get more postgame interviews, Sampson said White is not concerned.\n“He has that swagger,” Sampson said. “This is his team. Make no mistake about that.”