Gordon to enter NBA Draft

INDIANAPOLIS – Eric Gordon’s bright yellow shirt removed all doubt, if there was any left. \nHe’s going to the NBA. \nAt a press conference Monday afternoon in his hometown, the IU freshman announced his intentions to leave school and play professional basketball next season.\n“I will be entering my name in June for the 2008 NBA Draft,” Gordon said during a press conference at the Jewish Community Center in Indianapolis. “I am doing this to compete at the highest level, not for the fame or the money.”\nGordon’s decision didn’t surprise many, including new IU coach Tom Crean, who said he did not try to persuade the star freshman. \n“I would do as little as he wanted, I would do as much as I could, and at the same time we were just here to support him,” Crean said. \nBefore Gordon even suited up in his No. 23 Indiana jersey, most Hoosier fans thought it would be one-and-done for the North Central High School star. \nIt was a season that almost didn’t happen. Gordon had committed to play at Illinois during his junior season before spurning the Illini to play for his home-state school after Kelvin Sampson was hired. \nSampson, the coach that lured Gordon to come to Bloomington, resigned mid-season because of NCAA violations.\nStill, Gordon’s father, Eric Gordon Sr., said his son made the right decision. \n“It was a tumultuous season, without a doubt,” Gordon Sr. said. “But I think this is what he wanted to do. ... We’re all about community, and Indiana University is part of our community. Although things didn’t necessarily go as planned, things were good overall.”\nIn his sole year in college, Gordon wasted little time to wow the IU crowd, scoring 33 points – the most for a Hoosier in a debut – in IU’s season opener against University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Gordon led the Big Ten in scoring (20.9 points per game) and set a Big Ten record for most points scored in a season by a freshman (669). \n“Wherever you go, you’ll always be an Indiana Hoosier,” IU assistant coach and long-time family friend Jeff Meyer told Gordon. “And we appreciate that. And more than that, in my humble opinion, you’ll always be a great Indiana Hoosier.”\nBut to many fans, Gordon’s brief stay was a disappointment.\nHe shot 19-for-63, or 30.1 percent, in his final four games and scored just eight points in IU’s first-round loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament. \nNinety-one percent of readers said they believed Gordon was not ready for the NBA, according to a non-scientific poll conducted on the Indiana Daily Student Web site. \nCrean disagrees. \n“The proof is there,” Crean said. “I think he’s going to be outstanding.”\nCrean said he believed Gordon’s near-complete skill set will only improve as a professional. \nGordon’s projected to be the seventh pick in the draft, according to NBADraft.net.\nGordon Sr. said he believed his son could be drafted anywhere between the No. 3 and No. 8 picks. \nHe added that his son will sign with an agent, taking away any chance Gordon could return for another year at IU. \n“He’s committed,” he said. “He’s going to be going to the NBA, and he’s looking forward to it. He wants to compete at the highest level, and there’s no better place than the NBA to do that.”\nGordon said he expects to earn a degree in the future. \n“I’m willing to graduate from IU at some point in time,” he said. \nThat, his father said, is important to him. \n“Everyone’s not going to be a professional athlete,” Gordon Sr. said. “For him, he’s going to have kids some day, and I think it’s a great testament for him to be able to tell kids, ‘Hey, you may not be a professional athlete, so please get your degree because I got mine.’”