26 comments

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  slojoe

  1 year ago

  Right on Big A! But I'm glad the pundits are taking shots at our team and not picking us to win because it gives them something to shoot at and boy will it be sweet when we win. Clearly MSU & OSU have been exposed, they have a long way to go. But the season is early and the season has yet to even officially start.
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  jdhoosier

  1 year ago

  Gassaway is way off-base here. I was a big Wilmont fan, but he could do two things -- shoot and rebound. Gordon has an all-around game and Big A nailed the biggest difference and that's Gordon's ability to take it to the rack and finish and/or go to the foul line.
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  Tom

  1 year ago

  Comparing Wilmont to Gordon is like comparing Benson's pro career to Bird's---no offense to Rod.
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  kelin

  1 year ago

  Gassaway has probaly only seen pictures of Gordon taking a jumpshot and basing his entire thoughts on that photo....there is no way in hell he has seen Eric Gordon. The only think those two have in common is they both are excellent athletes...that is it.
  
  Not sure what is the deal with his IU finishing behind Wisconsin...but in the great words of Rick Pitino...."Alando Tucker and Devin Harris is not walking through that door!"
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  Kyle

  1 year ago

  I also disagree with the former Wonk's assessment of Gordon going into the year but the thing that I find most interesting is that I'm pretty sure that Gasaway either lives or has recently lived in Indianapolis. I'm pretty sure I remember that he had a couple of posts on the now defunct Big Ten Wonk blog about attending a few Butler games. You would think that he would checked out Gordon at least once or twice during his high school career.
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  Hoosier Hound

  1 year ago

  Eric and Rod are nearly night and day difference. The ONLY similarity is their penchant and ability to shoot threes, which seems to be the only thing Gasaway examined.
  
  On penetrating: Rod NEVER drove the ball to the basket. In the end a good thing, because Rod dribbling was a turnover waiting to happen. But EJ is a great penetrator and will score alot of points and draw alot of fouls.
  
  On free-throw shooting: Like you said, Rod shot only 53 free throws last year, less than two per game, and he shot a pedestrian 66% from the line. EJ will easily shoot over 100 free throws next year, probably close to 150, and make over 80% of his tosses.
  
  On passing: I looked it up and Rod had only 34 assists in 32 games last year. I expect Eric to average at least 2 per game. Not only will he actually look to pass, compared to the black hole of three-pointers that was Roderick Wilmont, Eric is a very good passer.
  
  On rebounding: Rod was second on the team in rebounding last year. No way does EJ do that for two reasons. First, Eric is simply not as good at rebounding as Rod was, and second, Eric doesn't need to be with the additions of Thomas and Holman.
  
  On defense: This is a hard comparison. Rod was a good off-the-ball defender and led the team in steals last year by picking off alot of passes. I don't think EJ will be as good in that area, but I think he will be a better on-the-ball defender and come up with quite a few blocked shots.
  
  This is the problem with all this "statistical" analysis. Gasaway found one way they were similar and declared them alike without ever seeing them play.
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  jaime gongora

  1 year ago

  your dead on. I think that very few people outside of Indiana know how good we really are. I know that everyone in chapel hill is making fun of me, but I truely believe that Gordon and company will get the last laugh.
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  Witt

  1 year ago

  I've seen Gordon play quite a few times. Most of the time he is outstanding, but occasionally he plays a game where he in uninvolved. If Gasaway happened to see one of the games, then I can maybe stretch my thoughts enough to believe his statements aren't completely wrong.
  
  Hands down, Eric Gordon is a better basketball player than Rod Wilmont. If Gordon stays involved in a game, no matter the opponent, IU has a legitimate chance of winning that game. He creates opporunities not only for himself, but for the entire team. His energy can bring a team to rebound from a shooting slump and get the crowd back into a game. (I'm pretty sure that oop reverse jam against Longwood was the best missed shot that wouldn't have counted anyway in the history of the sport.)
  
  All said and done, IU and MSU are clearly the most legit teams and should be expected to fight it out in the Big Ten Tourney Championships. That said, it's the Big Ten, no win is a guarantee, thats why we play the game.
  
  Go Hoosiers!
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  nealE

  1 year ago

  I think this is hilarious. I LOVE Rod Wilmont. I wish he was here another year, I really really do. But come on. The line I think is the craziest is this one: "takes obsessively good care of the ball, as did Wilmont." If any of you have heard coach Sampson talk about Wilmont, you will know what he thought of Rod's "obsessive ball control." He told us a story of the Northwestern game where Rod hit all those 3's (9 I think, correct?). Before the game, Sampson was not very comfortable with Rod playing against their slap the ball away defense, and their aggressive play of the passing lanes. He could see the writing on the wall and it read a line of somewhere near 50 turnovers. He gave Rod one piece of advice: "Just shoot it. Every time you touch the ball, shoot it. Don't pass it, don't dribble it, JUST SHOOT IT." His impersonation of Rod's reaction is the best. "FOR REAL?!?!" I love Rod. But the man can't pass and the man can't dribble the lane. EJ can do both. If anything it's like he is 2 different players. Rod Wilmont plus someone who can touch the ball without losing it.
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  Hoosier Hound

  1 year ago

  nealE,
  
  I basically agree with you about Rod's passing and dribbling being turnovers in the making, but I give Rod alot more credit. Rod KNEW he couldn't pass or dribble very well, and made considerably good decisions with that knowledge. Rod took what alot of people might consider "bad shots", but considering the alternative passing or dribbling in tight defense, Rod obviously made the right choice on these occasions and IU benefited for it with made three-pointers and chances at offensive rebounds. Theis explains how even though Rod was quite capable of turning the ball over, he didn't very often.
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  kelin

  1 year ago

  When you look at last year it is amazing how these guys did as well as they did with very very few ball handlers and penetrators and finishers....got all that stuff now....
  
  I echo witt about the alley oop, it was a good one that didn't happen....
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  HoosierDaddy

  1 year ago

  Eric Gordon was better than Rod last year in high school. And Rod is my favorite all-time hoosier.
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  Hoosier Hound

  1 year ago

  I just went back and reread Gasaway's arguments about IU and have come to the conclusion that he may be a moron. According to him, the only real difference between IU last year and IU this year is that Gordon will replace Wilmont. He then postulates that IU will not be considerably better than last year because they are basically the same team. So I have to ask, is he retarded?
  
  Leaving aside the huge argument that, Gordon > Wilmont.
  
  He points out immediately that the Hoosiers are an incredible three-point shooting team, but he fails to realize that they will be even better this year. Yeah, IU lost Wilmont and he was a good shooter. But Bassett and Ratliff are back, Gordon and Crawford and Ellis join the fold, and there is the potential for Stemler to actually make his shots. Also, don't underestimate the potential for three-pointers that comes with replacing Calloway with one of these guards that will shoot and can make shots from behind the arc. In short, this team could be better than the 2002 team that shot itself into the National Title game with Coverdale, Hornsby, Fife, and Jeffries, and this team could easily do the same. Because don't forget that three-pointers are, after all, worth more than two points.
  
  On the other side of the ball, he bemoaned IU's interior defense from last year, besides DJ, and pratically disregarged the additions of Thomas and Holman. He instead focused on the "short"-comings of Mike White, even though he may redshirt this year.
  
  I think IU should be the favorite to win the Big Ten this year because of their shooters. Remember, just one hot shooter can keep a team in a game, see Wilmont at Penn State last year. The odds that at least one of the group of Gordon, Basset, Crawford, Ellis, and Ratliff is having a good shooting night are exceptional, in fact odds are that 2 or 3 of them will shoot great in any one game. Include DJ to make this a two-dimensional team, and the Hoosiers should definitely find themselves at the top of the Big Ten.
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  PB

  1 year ago

  Umm...who is paying this guy to write? His mom?
  
  Eric Gordon is much more than a perimeter player! He's going to get to the foul line an unbelievable amount this year because he drives the lane like a polished NBA player.
  
  Wilmont brought a lot of heart and leadership to the team, but he just can't ball like EJ. Can't wait to prove this idiot wrong.
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  MPmike

  1 year ago

  It's funny how they have idiots write for sport columns. This shows how much credibility this nut has--none. Maybe he didn't read any information that Gordon is picked as one of the top freshnman in America and also picked as pre-season All-American. If he just went on this alone then he would be justified as a columnist. I hope he's doing this for free.
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  kelin

  1 year ago

  I think we all should email this idiot
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  PostmanE

  1 year ago

  OK, OK, everyone, easy. No need for mass emailings or name-calling; Gasaway is a really good writer, and an insightful college basketball thinker. He's wrong here -- it's quite possible he just hasn't seen Gordon play, or whatever else -- but he's usually right on. No need for territorial anger, unless he next says Gordon is the second coming of Adam Ahlfeld. Then, do your worst.
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  Big A

  1 year ago

  I certainly wouldn't advocate emailing Gasaway, unless you're planning to do so in a respectful manner. Like E said, he's a good writer, but he is wrong about Eric Gordon and that was the point of my post. I'm glad it's created such a passionate conversation amongst us.
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  JohnM

  1 year ago

  Gasaway is what he is, which is a stat guy and a damn smart one. Whatever anyone says about Gasaway, he's way, way smarter than the typical lunkhead of the sort employed by the Indianapolis Star, etc. I don't think that he's intending to slight Gordon but mostly to point out what an incredibly efficient and underrated season Wilmont had last year. Gasaway and his BP colleague Ken Pomeroy have done a good job of dispelling myths and pointing out some of the fallacies involved in reporting on basketball. I think there are some limitations to this approach, and I think Gasaway's point about Gordon illustrates that. But people would do well to dial back. Unlike the cliche-spouting douchebags that do most of the sportswriting in this country, Gasaway does way more good than bad, and you ought to keep reading him instead of filling his inbox with invective. Based on reading him for the last few seasons, I'm confident that if the season proves him wrong, he will readily and cheerfully admit it. I'll have some more polished thoughts about this on the Hoosier Report in the next couple of days.
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  PostmanR

  1 year ago

  I agree with E and John M, Gasaway is a good, smart writer. Even if he is a bit off base here, I encourage everyone to check out Basketball Prospectus during the season.
  
  They'll be doing some tremendous work.
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  Zach

  1 year ago

  Speaking of Rod...
  
  Wilmont and Earl (the Pearl) Calloway will be playing for the new NBDL team in Fort Wayne, the Mad Ants.
  
  http://www.idsnews.com/basketblog/?p=199
  
  Pretty pumped about that.
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  Steve

  1 year ago

  The one thing I would like to point out is that the reason EJ had games in which he looked like he was uninvolved is because he got really bored in high school. Trust me nobody has seen the real EJ. His coach in high school did not know how to use his full potential. I guarantee Sampson will push him and get the most out of him. This is one of the best coaches EJ could have hoped for because of how much Sampson can get from his players. For anyone to say EJ might be as good as Wilmont is assanine. I have seen EJ play about 20 times and I have seen Conley play. I have also seen them play each other and ERIC GORDON is the best shooting guard in college basketball!! The reason being is like everyone on this board is saying he is the total package. He will dominate his position no matter who they play.
  The other thing people are forgetting DJ will not be double teamed this season because of our great shooters. If he does get double teamed I pitty the team they are playing because Gordon and Basset will have 20 3's and if DJ is not double teamed we all know what that means.
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  kelin

  1 year ago

  Ok no emails.....I have seen EJ at his best in H.S. and at times he seemed bored or irritated at his opponants for thinking they should be on the court with him....i.e. Franklin Central where he literally in a 4minute stretch took the game over.
  
  This writer must have pissed people off cause 20plus post is pretty strong....you can talk about my momma but don't you say nothing about my EJ....
  
  K.Jones decides next week....keep your fingers crossed
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  Mark M

  1 year ago

  Reading this paragraph made me realize that although I love reading the Wonk's analysis it is handicapped in pre-season work for newcomers. What he does well is look at stats and help interpret them. He has no useful stats for Eric Gordon. Notice how he breezed over the newcomers despite clear evidence last Sunday that they will matter immensely.
  
  Whether he has or has not seen EJ play is irrelevant. He understands that the human who believes everything he sees is going to be fooled. Lots. So he looks at stats, be there aren't any for EJ or the other newcomers.
  
  Look for a mea culpa once he has some stats to work with and sees the ways Eric is (and isn't) better than Rod Wilmont.
  
  Of course, he is an unapologetic Illinois fan so it may take a while. Maybe during his Final Four preview :-)
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  Jack Schneider

  1 year ago

  For a player with a reputation as a prolific scorer, Eric Gordon is the best basketball PLAYER I have seen in 60 years of following the game (includng almost a decade covering the Hoosiers for the Louisville papers in the '60s). Eric's talents haven't begun to be tapped. He will be outstanding in every aspect of the game. Best of all he's a true team player, which is rare in a player of his offensive ability. Kelvin Sampson often speaks of Eric's humility, which is virtually unknown in today's star players. To put Rod Wilmont on anything even close to the same level of Eric as an all-round player is patently absurb -- totally ignorant. Rod played well for the Hoosiers within his capabilities, but an Eric Gordon he wasn't!
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  b-side

  1 year ago

  John M. wrote,
  
  "Gasaway is what he is, which is a stat guy and a damn smart one. Whatever anyone says about Gasaway, he’s way, way smarter than the typical lunkhead of the sort employed by the Indianapolis Star, etc."
  
  Comparing Gasaway to Hutchens is almost as bad as the EJ/Wilmont issue we've all got beef with. Hutch is a phenomenal beat reporter and is very in tune with the on-goings of both the football and b-ball program. And just a caveat, I neither work for the Star nor am I related to him. But I do appreciate solid journalism when I read it.
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