Gordon lifts Hoosiers in signature performance
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Evan Gordon didn’t do any shakes or shimmies or jigs on Tuesday night. He didn’t hurl any trash talk at his hapless defenders.
And no, Gordon didn’t anoint himself the second coming of his brother after the final buzzer had sounded.
He let his play do the talking. And what he did on the Assembly Hall court spoke volumes about Gordon, and about his Indiana Hoosiers.
Gordon scored a season-high 26 points, just three shy of his career best, pulled down five rebounds and for long stretches ran the offense to perfection for the Hoosiers (8-2), who pasted Oakland 81-54 in the first meeting between the schools.
“When your team has confidence in you to make your shot, it gives you confidence,” Gordon said.
And he certainly had that.
Gordon looked like a star for the first time since he transferred from Arizona State in the offseason to play at the school where his brother Eric is still a wildly popular hero. Gordon’s 2007-08 freshman season, his lone year in Bloomington, remains one of the best in program history.
Though Evan insisted he had made no adjustments, others seemed to hint that new teammates are now making a concerted effort to get Gordon more touches.
So, with him on fire?
“We knew we had to keep giving him the ball,” Luke Fischer said.
Gordon shook off a few rough games to start his Indiana career – no points against LIU-Brooklyn, one point versus Washington, two points at Syracuse – to play a central role for the Hoosiers over the past two.
On Tuesday, Gordon let the game come to him, scored in a variety of ways and consistently drained open looks from the perimeter.
“Evan is in the gym more,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “That’s really important. When Evan came, one of our big points to him was that we thought there was a lot more that he could get better at and that he could improve in a lot of areas. I think he’s starting to see that. He’s doing that.”
With less than five minutes gone by in the game, Gordon gathered a rebound and shot up the floor on a break. Without slowing, Gordon drove down the lane, gave an effective head fake and then contorted his body to finish a layup around a defender.
The senior reserve, who made his first eight shots, scored 10 straight Indiana points midway through the first half – with none from Oakland during that burst – to give the Hoosiers a 16-point lead.
“I think if you watch the game you can see that the team is moving the ball a little bit more. I’ve gotten open. We’re playing a little bit faster. It’s touching the paint and everybody is getting pretty good looks,” Gordon said.
As far as comparisons to his brother, anyone looking for a verbalized link was disappointed.
Gordon and his brother are very different players even if they share some traits and even if Eric tweeted during the second half that Evan’s performance had him fired up.
“They both look alike,” Indiana assistant Steve McClain once said. “But the change of pace and explosiveness – Eric’s a freak of nature in that regard.”
After Gordon transferred to Indiana, there was a notion that Gordon had to be a big part of this season on a young team.
For one night at least, Gordon lived up to every possible expectation with dominant play before a sellout crowd chanting his name.
“I stayed confident in my shot. Stayed aggressive. Stayed aggressive defensively and we got a big win,” Gordon said. “It’s all coming out.”
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
