At 7:00 PM ET tonight the
2008 NBA Draft will start (televised on ESPN), and if all goes well, former IU star
Eric Gordon shouldn’t have to wait too long to have his name announced.
Even with his well-publicized late season drop-off in production, Gordon is now 100% healthy and performed well in his pre-draft testing. Although he is still quite undersized for a two-guard at only 6’3”, his athletic ability is undeniable.
Gordon's been a busy guy since coming to the Adidas May Classic
So where will Gordon go in tonight’s draft? Opinions are varied.
ESPN’s Chad Ford has him going high to the Memphis Grizzlies with the fifth selection. Sports Illustrated has him falling all the way to the New Jersey Nets at number 10, with Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Russell Westbrook, and Jerryd Bayless all coming off the board first. Others have him going somewhere in between, such as to the
Clippers in the seventh spot or the
Knicks at the sixth.
If he does indeed go last out of the top tier of guards in this talent-rich draft, some teams may be passing on a huge opportunity. Yes, Gordon went broke down the stretch, bricking three-pointers and turning the ball over, but it’s too easy to forget that he was playing with an injured wrist that forced him to play practically one-handed.
The injury rendered both of his strengths, shooting and driving to the basket, painfully ineffective. Prior to that injury, however, Gordon looked unstoppable (remember the slew of 30+ point games?). Without the injury, I believe that he would have most likely led the nation in scoring and would be looking at a consensus top three pick.
Even being shorter than ideal for a shooting guard, it’s hard to look at Gordon and not think that he’ll be a perennial All-Star very soon. He’s physically intimidating with 222 lbs of muscle, had the third-fastest three-quarter court sprint at the NBA Draft Camp (3.01 seconds), and was tied for second in vertical leap (40 inches). He’s also a lights-out shooter with ridiculous range (when healthy!) and is not a slouch on the defensive end.
It’s possible that he could be even better in the NBA. In a
past interview he told IUplanet, "I would say that’s my type of game, and I think I’ll be ready for it." I happen to agree. In the pros he’ll be able to use more of his dynamic scoring ability and take advantage of his physicality. He definitely also has the potential to develop into a good scoring point guard, even though it wasn’t one of his strengths in college.
Finally, Gordon is simply a good character guy. He’s very low-key and soft-spoken, and isn’t the player who will get into trouble off the court. Even in the midst of the coaching scandal this year, Gordon didn’t add to the distraction like some of his teammates, and was almost surprisingly professional about the entire situation, even though his primary recruiter and coach was going down in flames. While NBA executives may have some concerns about some players (such as
Michael Beasley), Gordon is picture-perfect in this area.
No matter when or where he goes, Gordon is going to shine in the NBA. It’s unfortunate that his short college career couldn’t have ended with a deep NCAA tournament run (and instead ended with a massive crisis), but he has an extremely bright future in the pros.
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Related links:
http://iuplanet.com/forum/indiana-ba...u-program.html
NBA Draft Official Heights/Weights
NBA Draft Combine Results
ESPN - Chatting With Top 2008 NBA Draft Prospects - TrueHoop By Henry Abbott
Eric Gordon - Indiana - Top Guards in the NBA Draft - Photos - SI.com
Eric Gordon Ready For The NBA Draft - ESPN Video
Mock Drafts Galore:
ESPN - Chad Ford's Mock Draft, Version 7.0: Picks 1-30 - NBA
Mock Draft Picks 1-10 - Ian Thomsen - SI.com
DraftExpress: Mock Draft
NBADraft.net
2008 NBA Mock Drafts Database
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