Eric Gordon Jr.

A professional basketball player from Indiana, USA, Eric Gordon Jr. began playing basketball in high school, at the North Central High School, Indianapolis. Displaying immense skill right at that level, Gordon was played a key role in the Indiana 4A title game entry, even though they lost to E'Twaun Moore. Gordon averaged 29 points, 3.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds, following which Gordon won the Mr. Basketball title in 2007, and also a McDonald's All-American.

Recruitment was a high profile deal, mainly due to Gordon's impressive performance so far. With both Indiana University and University of Illinois fighting for the player, Gordon was the object of great media speculation. Gordon had made a verbal commitment to the University of Illinois about joining them, under Bruce Webber. But with a change of coach at Indiana University, rumors of a Gordon going back on his word began to gain strength. On the 13th of October, Eric Gordon Sr. announced his son's decision to forego his commitment, and in November he signed a National Letter of Intent with Indiana.

Despite the warm welcome that Gordon received, he had to endure harsh criticism from Illinois fans, who were unhappy with the timing of his switch, as well as his statements. In fact, Eric Sr. revealed that his son had even received death threats following his decision. In February, Gordon played against Illinois, and his family was subjected to severe taunts and was even pelted with ice and beads.

In December, 2008, Gordon caused another furor, when he revealed that players from the Indiana team were abusing drugs, and even though Coach Sampson tried to stop them, it did not end, as he was more focused on winning. This led to the complete disintegration of the team. But his freshman year was quite impressive, with Gordon averaging 20.9 points, 2.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. Of the 18 games that Indiana played with Gordon, they won 17, and lost only one. But Gordon's performance was noticeably weaker against Illinois, even suffering an injury to his wrist in the game.

Gordon grabbed a Big Ten Freshman of the Year, as well as First Team of the Big Ten conference awards, decided by the media as well as coaches. He shared the honor with teammate D.J. White.

In April, Gordon announced his decision to enter the 2008 NBA Draft, and was drafted in the 7th pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. In his first NBA Summer League, Gordon scored 23 points, and after two more summer league games, had an average of 19 points, as well as 6.5 rebounds. But after a match against the Charlotte Bobcats, Gordon injured his hamstring, ruling him out for the rest of the summer.

When the 2008 NBA preseason began, Gordon immediately proved his mettle, scoring 33 points in just 31 minutes, against the Sacramento Kings. In January, 2009 Gordon posted his career high 41 points, which is Clipper rookie record.

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