Gordon’s debut draws rave reviews

Who knew Assembly Hall could get so loud in early November?\nWith the IU men’s basketball team trailing Tennessee-Chattanooga by two points early in the second half, freshman guard Eric Gordon took a pass from sophomore guard Armon Bassett and emphatically dunked the ball with his right hand. \nWith the score tied, a previously lethargic and woeful crowd erupted as if the name across the dark jerseys read “Purdue” and not “Chattanooga.” \n“We saw a pretty good player out there,” Chattanooga coach John Shulman said after the game. “Gracious day.”\nThe Eric Gordon era has arrived. \nWhenever the Hoosiers needed a big play, Gordon was there, draining a 3-pointer, drawing a foul or kicking the ball out for an assist. \n“He’s a monster,” said coach Kelvin Sampson.\nAnd after Gordon’s dunk tied the score, the Hoosiers never trailed again.\n“He picked us up when we gave that lead up, and he put us on his back,” Bassett said.\nGordon finished the night with 33 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-11 from behind the arc. Gordon’s 33 points eclipses a 26-point mark set by George McGinnis for most points by an IU player in his debut.\n“I was feeling it early, but that’s what I expect to do,” Gordon said. “I expect to score points.” \nGordon was one of five Hoosiers to post double figures during the game, but he was the only one to score more than 20. Or 30. \nBut the difference in the game, according to Shulman, was Gordon’s defense. \nAfter Chattanooga guard Kevin Bridgewaters dropped 14 points in the first half, Sampson assigned Gordon to guard him in the second half. Bridgewater went scoreless in with Gordon manning him up, taking just one shot in the half.\n“He manhandled our point guards in the second half,” Shulman said. “We couldn’t get off the ball screens. We couldn’t get off the plays. He was very physical. He’s got great size, he’s got great feet. He was dominating defensively, which disrupted everything that we wanted offensively. \nThat young man right there changed the complexion of the game on both ends.”\nGordon stole the ball three times and blocked one 3-point attempt in 35 minutes of action.\nSampson has said all season long that Gordon is one of the best on-ball defenders on the team.\n“Watching him every day in practice, that’s where he’s made his biggest strides, defensively,” Sampson said.\nAnd the thing Sampson likes most about Gordon is how hard he works. He remembered how early Gordon came in for shootaround for the team’s second exhibition game – a full two hours before the rest of the team was supposed to arrive. Sampson said while he was a graduate assistant at Michigan State, there was one player who had a similar work ethic – NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. \n“There’s a reason why they’re good,” Sampson said.\nShulman said he hopes to never again coach against Gordon, though he wouldn’t mind looking on as a fan. \n“This is not a very easy atmosphere for anybody to come in, especially on Eric Gordon freshman night,” Shulman said. “They should have given out posters – I’d get mine autographed.”