Six of you wrote back with questions for Eric Gordon. I managed to get most of them answered during an hour-long interview at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Keep reading.

Skiptomylou asked: eric do you feel you are better than oj mayo or derrick rose and also what do you think you could improve on in your game?

Both Gordon and Derrick Rose deferred when asked this question, choosing instead to mutter something about how many great players were there. Not only are these two diplomatic, they’re simply not trash-talkers.

The official McDonald’s Media Guide makes a bold statement, though. The first line of Gordon’s bio reads: “Eric is generally regarded as the best point guard and overall player in this year’s class.” Even at an event that gathers the best of the best, Gordon is considered exceptional.

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Indiana assistant coach Ray McCallum has withdrawn his name from consideration for the head coaching job at Indiana State.

McCallum, in a phone call this afternoon to H-T reporter Chris Korman, said he still wants to go back to being a head coach at some point, but doesn’t feel this is the right time after being at Indiana just one year. He said he plans to stay at IU for now and try to win some national championships.

McCallum was reportedly a finalist for the Indiana State job.

Chris received McCallum’s call on his cell phone while returning from Louisville, where the McDonald’s All-American game will be played tomorrow night.

Chris plans to attend Indiana’s spring football practice with me late this afternoon, then write a story tonight from an interview he did today in Louisville with some kid from North Central that’s going to play for the Hoosiers next year. He’s supposed to be pretty good. What the heck is his name?

Eric Gordon didn’t have much time to rest after North Central lost in the Indiana State Final. He’s already in Louisville participating in the McDonald’s All-American game and all the stuff that surrounds it (which apparently includes more than just eating Big Macs and McNuggets.)

I’ll be talking with Gordon Tuesday afternoon and I had this crazy thought: maybe I’ll give you guys a chance to ask him the questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Through me.

So, send ‘em if you got em. I’ll try to squeeze them in and get back to you.

Three IU recruits played in their state championship basketball games this week, but only future Hoosier left the floor victorious.

Playing on one of the largest stages Indiana basketball has to offer, Eric Gordon and North Central fell to East Chicago Central in the State 4A Finals, 87-83. Gordon finished the game with 25 points on 8-16 shooting and six rebounds.

Although Gordon had his fair share of impressive plays, he was slightly overshadowed by the play of East Chicago’s E’Twaun Moore, who led all scorers with 28 points. Gordon will get an opportunity to avenge his state championship loss against Moore soon though — he is a future Boilermaker.

Gordon will be back in action Wednesday night in the McDonalds All-American game in Louisville, KY. Hopefully, Chris and I will be there to cover the action.

Also falling in their championship game was Chipola’s Jamarcus Ellis and DeAndre Thomas. The two IU recruits performed exceptionally, but were never really in contention, losing 91-75 to Midland CC.

Thomas had his best performance in weeks, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes. The Chicago native was paticularly efficent, shooting 10-13 from the field and 2-3 from the free throw line.

Ellis, the Panhandle Conference’s Player of the Year, led his team with 28 points. The IU recruit was was 6-12 from the field and converted 12-14 free throw attempts.

Although the 2007 class was most likely left unsatisfied, the 2008 class was more fortunate, thanks to Bud Mackey.

The Scott County star led his team to their second straight state championship with a victory over Ballard, 56-50.

Playing in Rupp Arena, Mackey had 22 points, including 11 of his team’s 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Indiana assistant coach Ray McCallum, rumored to be a candidate for several of the open head coaching jobs in the region, is out of town this weekend (hmmmm…) and won’t be available until Monday.

The Tribune-Star has been all over Indiana State’s search for a new coach, and is reporting that McCallum is one of four finalists for that job. It also got the athletic director to deny an internet rumor that McCallum had already been offered the job.

Read the entire story here.

An interesting sub-story here is that while most of the Indiana athletic family will be happy for Ray to get another shot at being a head coach, fans of Bloomington High School North will be absolutely devastated. They’ll likely lose Ray McCallum Jr., one of the best players his age in the country.
Also, no word on A.J. Ratliff’s injured left wrist. He was scheduled to have an MRI Friday to determine what course to take. He may need surgery or he may be able to rehab.

We hope to have an update on Ratliff some time this week.

That’s what the Tribune-Star of Terre Haute is reporting.

Read the report here. 

I’ll try to track Coach McCallum down tomorrow. Enjoy your Friday night.

IU just sent out a short news release saying Lance Stemler underwent surgery today. Here it is:

Indiana forward Lance Stemler underwent surgery Thursday to correct a chronic left ankle injury that had been aggravated during the past season. He is out indefinitely.

The Columbia, Ill. native reinjured the ankle prior to the team’s Feb. 15 game at Purdue. Stemler returned for the Hoosiers’ final eight games. He finished the season averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per contest.