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Gordon whines too much; Hogs down Hoosiers Saturday, Mar 22, 2008 By Harry King RALEIGH, N.C. - Eric Gordon had better grow up before he signs up for the NBA. Maybe the Indiana freshman was set up to fail by all the pregame pub, but he disappointed against Arkansas on Friday. Not only did he shoot poorly, he didn't display the grit you would expect from somebody who is supposed to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft. Characterized as the most talented individual Arkansas had faced all year, he was a cut below ordinary. In the 86-72 loss, he excelled at whining. Late in the first half on Friday night, he was moving right when he ran into Steven Hill, who was planted. Gordon's head smacked Hill's torso and he acted as if he didn't care for the contact. Prior to that, he didn't come close on a too-quick 3 and sat down. Acting head coach Dan Dakich walked to the end of the bench to say something, but a Darian Townes dunk off a Gary Ervin penetration was a signal for both Gordon and D.J. White to get back on the court. Left alone, Patrick Beverley made a 3 for 32-25 and Gordon missed for the sixth time in seven attempts. At 37-27, Gordon was called for starting a move with three steps and he looked at Dakich for sympathy. Early in the second half, when Indiana had reduced an eight-point deficit to 40-36, Ervin lost the ball and Gordon was in position to do something. His move was to palm the ball, grimace a "No way," and mouth a couple of words. Even though Gordon might make a lot of money and teammate White is very good inside, Gordon's play hurt the Hoosiers and White's only help was DeAndre Thomas, who is listed at 295 pounds and looks every pound of it. Thomas was so lovably overweight that some of the North Carolina fans who stuck around to scout the Tar Heels' next victim formed a small fan club for the "big fellow," often encouraging him to get some oxygen. Hard-working and skilled, White asked to come out at the 4:20 mark, knowing he would get another break with the media timeout inside the four-minute mark. He exited right after Steven Hill blocked a shot and Sonny Weems hit a 3 for 67-57, a big turnaround for Arkansas. Both Gordon and White are nominated for the two most prestigious awards in college basketball, one of four teammate combos on both lists. Those other pairs are from North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA - each either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although his reputation is inferior to that of Gordon, Weems was superior on the court. He scored 31, including 12-of-14 from the floor, and all three of his 3s were big. He left the court at 1:07 to a standing ovation from the couple of hundred Arkansas fans in Section 103. Other Razorbacks also contributed, particularly Townes with 6-of-11 from the field and 12 rebounds - a box score like White has accumulated 21 times this year. There were other contributions, including back-to-back 3s by Stefan Welsh, who did something similar against Vanderbilt in Atlanta last week. Gordon failed to score in double figures only once this year and that was when he logged 12 minutes vs. Tennessee State. Even though he is a 44 percent shooter from the field, his forte is getting to the free throw line, where he is pushing 85 percent. He made eight or more free throws in seven of the previous nine games. Against Arkansas, he missed his first two and two of his other four. Filling out their NCAA Tournament brackets, many participants eliminate the teams that sputter at the end of the season. Using that same criteria, maybe Gordon's poor performance has been one in the making. He averaged 21 points per game during the last nine games, but his shooting percentage was below 40 percent and his 3-point shooting was an atrocious 10-of-56. Against Arkansas, he was 3-of-15 from the field and a late tip-in helped him get to eight points. Near the end, the Arkansas fans began chanting, "S-E-C, S-E-C." Somebody in the pep band, it might have been a trumpet player, was more to the point. "We're staying the weekend," he screamed. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
