So, former Indiana star Eric Gordon has a little brother. His name is Eron Gordon. And yes, he plays basketball. Very well, according to various reports.
Some of college basketball’s power players have already corralled the young stud from Indianapolis, despite the fact he’s still in middle school.
The Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday that Gordon has been offered a full ride from the Champion of Early Scholarship Offers, Indiana’s Tom Crean.
Eron Gordon is still in the eighth grade, but he has picked up his first college basketball scholarship offer.
Gordon, the youngest brother of former North Central High School and Indiana star Eric Gordon, was offered by Indiana coach Tom Crean on Sunday night. The 6-1 Gordon played in the IndyBall.com Shootout over the weekend, playing up an age group with the 15-and-under Eric Gordon Central Stars.
Eron's father, Eric Gordon Sr., said Eron will take an unofficial visit Wednesday to Purdue. He could receive another offer.
"He's the definition of an 'attack-the-basket' type of guard," said Pat Mullin, his travel coach.
Gordon is an eighth grader at Westlane Middle School and plans to attend North Central as a freshman. Eric Gordon Jr. was Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball at North Central in 2007, then played one season at IU before heading to the NBA.
The paper also reports that Gordon has received interest from Ohio State, Xavier, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
One school that’s not on the list right now? Illinois.
New head coach John Groce might want to tread lightly with this one. Very lightly.
The recruitment of Eron’s older brother, Eric, was both fascinating and frightening, depending on your ties to the lllini.
Gordon verbally committed to Illinois and Bruce Weber in 2005. But, former Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson, who was ultimately punished for various NCAA violations that ended his tenure, snagged the top-rated prospect a year later for the Hoosiers.
Gordon only stayed for one season at Indiana, but Illini fans were -- are still -- understandably upset by the entire process. Scour the Internet for clips of the first and only time Gordon played at Assembly Hall in Champaign. It wasn’t pretty.
This is Kris Humphries-Kim Kardashian stuff. And the Kanye West rumors were true in this relationship.
So what will Groce and his staff decide if Eron continues to develop? I mean, will they overlook the talented, albeit barely-old-enough-for-PG-13-movies athlete, as they assess their targets?
Will Illini fans burn couches if Groce offers Eron a scholarship? What if there’s a serious courtship that doesn’t end well?
The bottom line is that another Gordon could hit the Illini radar and well, create chaos.
Right now, however, it’s way too early to tell. And with an eighth-grader, you never know.
The early interest might be legit or it could be the natural reaction from antsy college coaches hoping Eron possesses the same skill set of a highly paid older sibling. Doesn’t always work out that way.
Still, the Illini community might have to deal with the Gordon family again.
Things could -- will -- get interesting if Eron's growth continues.