Just like any normal day, if you wind your way through the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Indianapolis and go back to one of the gyms, it’s highly likely that you’ll find at least one member of the Gordon family dribbling a basketball.
Living just across the street – literally – the exceptionally athletically gifted family with three successful boys spend countless hours in that same very gym. That’s big reason why they haven’t moved to this day. It’s like a second home.
Eric Jr., the eldest of the Gordon boys, began hosting a camp after his rookie campaign. Having just completed his sixth season in the NBA, Gordon still looks forward to this time of year. Not only is he home with his family, which isn’t easy with his high-profile NBA life, but he gets to work in the gym he grew up in and teach the next generations.
“It’s been pretty good,” said the New Orleans Pelicans guard. “It seems age-wise, the kids are getting younger and younger so I’m starting to get way more younger kids. I see at least 20 of them have been here all six years.”
An estimated 55 kids are spending three days with the Gordons at the JCC from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The thing Eric Jr. (EJ) enjoys the most is working with the kids during the skill drills.
“You can tell that they’re trying to learn,” he said. “Playing – any kid can go anywhere and play. But to see them do skill work and to see some of them year to year to get better is great.”
Eric Sr. has stepped back a bit and let his kids handle more of the camp responsibilities. Middle son, Evan, who just graduated from Indiana University, is the camp director. Eron, a junior this fall at Cathedral High School, is one of the players lending a hand.
“It’s really fun having them all here because it’s a very small opportunity for us to all be together at the same time,” said Eric Sr. “EJ is usually doing some training. Evan is usually doing basketball. It’s good to have him done with his basketball playing because now he’ll be around a lot more. He’s been a lot of help to Eron over the last couple of weeks.”
The Gordons did not attend a numerous basketball camps like so many of us did. Eric Sr. sent them all to Ron Hunter’s camp when he was the head coach at IUPUI, and EJ attended Ben Coleman’s Future Stars Camp as an eighth grader to experience something different – but that was it. They mostly worked out with dad.
“I don’t go one-on-one anymore,” Eric Sr. said, in terms of teaching Eron. “I’m more directional. Evan really gets into it with him and then they mix it up and bump into each other and really get physical. He helps him with a lot of the physical stuff that he did over the last two, three, four years in college – ball screens, getting through the screen, handling the ball, handling pressure, making decisions. So he’s helping him out quite a bit.”
Many basketball fans enjoy trying to compare the games of EJ and Eron at the same age. While Eric Sr. understands that and recognizes some of it himself, he sees them having a little bit of a different game.
“Eric, of course, is the better pure shooter,” he said. “Eron can score in more ways. Eric can get to the basket and shoot the outside shot. Eron can hit the outside shot, mid-range shot, transition and finishing at the rim. I think they both have similar games but I think they all are kind of different in their style of play.”
(Photo via @EricGordonSr)
Even with a chaotic NBA schedule that takes him all of the country each week, EJ keeps close tabs on his youngest brother who has offers to play collegiately at Indiana, Purdue, Arizona State, and Nebraska – and interest from nearly every key program.
“With him, I definitely want him be a superior athlete,” EJ said. “I want him to be more dominant on the court as far as going to the basket and really beating guys athletically around the rim. I definitely want to get his jump shot down perfect, where he’s knocking down threes wherever on the court. He needs that. As a guard nowadays, you need the whole package. It sends you a long way when you have a jump shot.”
Scrimmages were held to conclude each day of camp. When a camper would make a nice move, convert a layup or steal the ball away, many times they’d immediately glance over at EJ to ensure a guy they look up to, a guy that once was doing all those little things to improve his game in that very gym, saw it and in hopes of earning a smile or high-five.
“Eric has not been around, here in Indianapolis over the last couple of years so this gives all the kids, friends of his and friends that have kids … to spend some time with Eric,” said Eric Sr.
And it’s time they surely won’t soon forget.