- July 18th, 2006, 5:44 pm
#21199
We discussed Meyer & Gordon's connection in the other forum. But this national story really calls out Jeff:
Sampson needs to back off Illinois recruithttp://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/5794850
Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com
Posted: July 18, 2006
Everywhere Eric Gordon goes, he has shadows. The North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) High standout guard, one of the elite players in the country, has been committed to Illinois for about a year now.
But Bruce Weber and the Illini staff aren't the only ones front and center for all of Gordon's games this summer.
Indiana assistant coach Jeff Meyer has been on Gordon in a manner that might make Bruce Bowen proud.
Sure, Meyer has a longstanding relationship with Eric Gordon Sr. from the days when he coached the elder Gordon at Liberty University. But Meyer's interest in Gordon has been overboard — especially with the cloud of scrutiny hanging over new Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson since his arrival in Bloomington.
Maybe Sampson isn't fully aware that this isn't football and that verbal commitments usually account for something in the land of the hardwood.
There's nothing wrong with Sampson making a call to Gordon's high school coach, Doug Mitchell, after he got the job at IU and taking the temperature of Gordon now that there's a new coach at the State U.
However, Sampson shouldn't have gone into the North Central High gym, armed with Meyer and fellow assistant Ray McCallum, within two weeks of getting the job. And he shouldn't be allowing Meyer to continue to focus on Gordon — as he did this past week when he attended every one of Gordon's games at the Peach Jam down in Augusta, S.C.
Not until Gordon comes forth publicly and says he's re-opening his recruitment.
That hasn't happened.
"I'm still committed to Illinois," Gordon Jr. said.
"Nothing's changed," Gordon Sr. said. "He's still with Illinois all the way."
Despite the recent confirmation from the Gordon camp, Gordon Sr. said that Indiana isn't the only school that made recent inquiries into his son's status.
"I had five major Division I coaches call me in the two days after the Adidas camp," Gordon Sr. said.
That may be true, but the only shadows that trailed Gordon from gym to gym were Illinois and Indiana.
However, the elder Gordon has likely communicated some level of interest to the guy who used to host dates between him and his wife while they were students at Liberty.
"I'm just curious as to what they are doing different than the last staff," Gordon Sr. said multiple times.
Well, for one thing, Gordon Sr. said he received more correspondence from the current staff in Bloomington in a matter of weeks than he did from Mike Davis and the previous regime in two-plus years.
One theory is that the elder Gordon just wants more attention for his son in an effort to boost his ranking. Another is that he doesn't want to upset the IU staff because he's got a younger son currently at North Central whom he wants to play for the Hoosiers someday.
Whatever the case, the bottom line here is that until Gordon and his spokesman (Gordon Sr.) make some sort of public announcement that he is re-opening his recruitment, Sampson should call off the dogs (um, Meyer).
Sampson needs to try and rehabilitate his image after the NCAA hit him with sanctions in the wake of him making too many phone calls during his time at Oklahoma. He's not doing a good job.
Sampson is on the NABC's Board of Directors and chaired a committee on ethics not too long ago. He's supposed to be a role model for the profession.
The sad part of all of this is that Eric Gordon Jr. is not only a terrific player, but also a delightful young man. However, those who don't know Gordon may not get an accurate read on him as a person because of the current situation and uncertainty.
"I don't know how it's gotten blown out of proportion," Gordon Sr. said.
Look in the mirror, Mr. Gordon, and have Sampson stand right beside you.
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com.
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