Valpo’s Eron Gordon Has Basketball in his Blood

by | Oct 19, 2020 | Basketball Blogs, Headlines | 0 comments

 

Valpo’s Eron Gordon Has Basketball in his Blood

 

To put it simply, basketball is a way of life for Valparaiso University men’s basketball redshirt senior Eron Gordon.

 

His father Eric Sr. is among the top 20 on Liberty’s all-time scoring list and both of his older brothers have played professionally. Middle brother Evan scored over 1,300 points at the Division-I level, while oldest brother Eric has played in the NBA since 2008, first with the Los Angeles Clippers (2008-2011), then with New Orleans (2011-2016) and now with the Houston Rockets (2016-pres.).

 

“Basketball was extremely big for me growing up,” Gordon said. “I’ve been watching the game since I was 3 or 4 years old. We’ve always been a competitive family. It’s a lifestyle more than anything.”

 

Gordon is frequently asked the simple yet challenging question, “What is it like to have a brother who plays in the NBA?” However, the Indianapolis native and Seton Hall transfer doesn’t permit the large shadow cast by his older brother to impact what he does on the basketball court.

 

“I get that question a lot, but I don’t know any different,” he said. “He’s been in the NBA since I was in fifth grade. I just go out there and play my game. I do the best I can and have fun with the game.”

 

But basketball isn’t the only thing that is fun for Gordon, whose hobbies include videography and podcasting. For members of the Valpo basketball travel party, it’s not uncommon to see Gordon filming behind-the-scenes footage on road trips that he uses on one of his YouTube channels.

 

“I started doing videos in 2012 with some friends of mine,” he said. “It got serious in 2018 right when I transferred to Valpo. I really enjoy editing and looking at videos. I’m on YouTube all the time. I think my life is interesting with the places I go and the people I meet, so I wanted to share what goes on with the world and document those memories.

 

Gordon enjoys traveling and features his destinations on one of his YouTube channels. He also has a podcast, where he gives others a platform to tell their stories. Another form of stress relief and escapism comes through playing video games.

 

When his Valpo tenure is said and done, Gordon hopes to have the opportunity to play professional basketball. He also has an interest in pursuing broadcast journalism since he’s always enjoyed talking about sports and other topics. In addition, he plans to contribute to the family business, E3 Basketball Academy.

 

Although Gordon has many plans in the works for future endeavors, his current focus is on the task at hand with the 2020-21 season looming.

 

“I want to play my part and win a Missouri Valley Conference championship,” he said. “I don’t have any individual goals other than leaving it all out there. Being able to see Ryan Fazekas come back from his injury and John Kiser play so well in the tournament motivated me to want to leave it all out there as a senior.”

 

Gordon, one of two players to appear in all 35 games a year ago, etched his name into Valpo lore with a last-second layup to complete the team’s come-from-behind upset of Loyola in the quarterfinal round of last year’s State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis. He became just the third Valpo player to hit a game-winner in the final five seconds of a conference tournament or postseason game in the last 30 years, joining Ryan Broekhoff (2013 vs. Green Bay) and Bryce Drew (1998 vs. Ole Miss).

 

“The conference tournament was obviously a unique experience,” Gordon said. “The Missouri Valley Conference is one of the best leagues, and that tournament is really special. It was very similar to the Big East Tournament when I played at Seton Hall. I got a lot out of the experience.”

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