At the beginning of the season, Eric Gordon looked like a phenom. He was the main reason IU started 17-1 and didn’t look like a freshman. He shot the lights out and was clutch in every game. What happened last night? Not only was Gordon have the worst game of his young college career, but he turned into Vin Baker at the free throw line. The kid is an 84% free throw shooter, but he could barely locate the rim. He was laying enough bricks that he needed to apply for a Home Depot membership card.
I have watched the NCAA tournament for most of my 27 years on this planet. I’ve seen some extraordinary individual achievements (Glen Rice, Randolph Childress, Bo Kimble) that were the main reason that their team won. This was the first time that I have seen the play of one freshman make their team look like a middle school team. I am not only picking on Gordon’s shooting, but he was constantly turning the ball over and making bad passes. Gordon wasn’t even running during most of the game. He walked up and down the court. He wasn’t even running hard to get open. He made Arkansas look like Nolan Richardson’s with Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson. I’ve seen Arkansas a few times this year, don’t be fooled, they are not a good as IU made them look.
Before this game, every NBA mock draft had Gordon being a high lottery pick. Do you feel comfortable drafting a guy who looked lazy in the biggest game of his career?