A most sacred season is coming this weekend involving sudden death, rebirth, and fanaticism. In the past, I have taken the Thursday and Friday off from whatever work I was at to over indulge in the 32 games of major college hoops to be played around the country, kicking off the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. I have not been that religious since returning to grad school, but my heart is still beating to the ticking of a shot clock.
This Friday, our Indiana Hoosiers will attempt to start their season for a fourth time. It is appropriate to view 2007-2008 in this way since it may be the only way we’ll get to see Eric Gordon play that long.
The first season ended well, granted against a mostly pushover non-conference schedule, with an 11-1 record. The second went almost as well, 11-3 against tougher conference foes. The lone losses being two to Wisconsin and one to non-conference Connecticut. The third season started on February 23 with two wins in the post-Sampson era, but wound up 3-3, including a very disheartening one-game performance in the Big Ten conference tournament. The decline under Dan Dakich has everyone worried, including the NCAA selection committee, which gave the 24th-ranked Hoosiers an 8th seed. When the team starts season four anew with their 9:40pm game against Arkansas on Friday, the fate of the Hoosier will likely be tied to which Gordon will show up.
Our star freshman hasn’t played like a star of late. For the full season, his per-game numbers are still glowing: 21.3 points, 2.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals. He is shooting 44% from the floor and 85% from the free-throw line. However, his season shows a definite decline, especially after Sampson departed.
Season 1 (Non-conference):
11 games, 48.2% FG, 43.7% 3pt, 86.5% FT, 3.3 Reb, 0.883 Activity
Season 2 (Sampson / Conference):
14 games, 45.4% FG, 36.8% 3pt, 85.0% FT, 3.1 Reb, 0.707 Activity
Season 3 (Dakich / Conference):
6 games, 34.5% FG, 15.9% 3pt, 80.6% FT, 3.5 Reb, 0.649 Activity
Activity: ratio of assists + steals + blocks to turnovers + fouls
Gordon’s incredible start is even better considering he played only 12 minutes against Tennessee State before suffering an injury. He already had 8 points, 2 rebounds, a steal and a block before sitting out that game and the next one. Perhaps he set a standard that a freshman isn’t expected to sustain, but for one talking about leaving for the NBA after one year, it isn’t outrageous for fans to expect consistency. No doubt, Eric Gordon still gets to the line, makes his free throws and finds a way to get his 20 points. But he is taking more shots and doing less away from the ball in getting there.
The notable decline is in the long-distance shooting, where his attempts are up and his makes are down, from 43% to just 15%. Same is true closer to the basket, going from 48% down to 35%. He is getting to the line more, but even his free throw shooting has dipped. Gordon rebounds a bit more, but steals are down, turnovers are up. So far, it looks like the Indiana program has managed to Bracey Wright this guy.
For Indiana to advance and pull a Duke-like upset over North Carolina in the second round, Gordon needs to regain his shooting touch and his production when not shooting. That, or one of our other guards needs to start playing like a wannabe NBA lottery pick.