IU nabs top recruit from Illini

For months, just about everyone except Eric Gordon Jr. thought they knew what Eric Gordon Jr. was going to do.\nFriday night, making an appearance at Hoosier Hysteria, Gordon Jr. and his father, Eric Gordon Sr., made it clear he finally knew where Gordon Jr. -- the No. 2-ranked player in the class of 2007, according to Rivals.com -- is going to play his collegiate basketball. He is coming to IU.\nReports began breaking late last week that Gordon had made his final decision, though no official announcement has been made. \nFriday night, Gordon Sr. said his son's decision -- though not official -- was final and wouldn't change again. \n"He's going to be here," Gordon Sr. said. "He's going to be a Hoosier, and that's pretty much it."\nIf schools continue to call, Gordon Sr. said, they won't be receiving a return dial. \nGordon Sr. said he and his wife Denise refrained from influencing their son's decision, hoping he would be able to decide for himself once and for all. \n"We stopped giving our personal viewpoint a long time ago," Gordon Sr. said. "We were letting him make his decision."\nThe elder Gordon said Gordon Jr. and his North Central High School coach Doug Mitchell spent time during the past few weeks debating the strengths and weaknesses of both Gordon's prior commitment, Illinois, and Gordon's newfound love, IU. Because his son is so eager to please, Gordon Sr. said, he'd often tell his parents what he thought they wanted to hear. No such pretense existed with Mitchell.\nMonday morning, Gordon Sr. said, was when his son finally knew.\n"On Monday he walked into (Mitchell's) office and said, 'I know exactly where I want to go,'" Gordon Sr. said. "Coach Mitchell said, 'Are you sure? Where do you want to go?' He said 'I want to go to Indiana.'"\nGordon Jr., who originally committed to Illinois last year when Mike Davis still coached at IU, didn't speak to the media Friday night. He sat center court behind the visitor's bench for most of Hoosier Hysteria. \nFans chanted "Er-ic Gor-don" throughout the evening, roaring with applause when the recruit stood and waved, acknowledging the attention. \nGordon Jr. had received similar treatment from the Illinois fan base, his father said, which endeared him to the program and made the decision to revoke his verbal commitment -- to call Illinois coach Bruce Weber and deliver the bad news -- all the more difficult. \n"He was really dreading speaking with coach Weber," he said. "But his choice was that he wanted to come to IU even though it would be extremely disappointing to coach Weber. I really like the Illinois staff and fans -- they're just incredible -- and Eric (Jr.) does too, but this was just the best place for him." \nThe decision was influenced by Gordon Jr.'s desire to stay close to home so that his father and grandfather could easily make the trip to watch him play, Gordon Sr. said. Also, the younger Gordon will have more friends at IU, which a high percentage of his North Central classmates will attend. \nFinally knowing where his son will attend school is a slight relief for the Gordon family, Gordon Sr. said, but things haven't completely calmed down yet. \n"Hopefully Monday it will be calm," he said. "I got 35 calls today, and my cell phone practically just died on me. Hopefully everything just goes back to normal. It's not normal yet"