Freshman Drew Gordon seems perpetually laid-back and at ease ““ he sports a fauxhawk, strolls coolly around campus and was recently featured on the cover of UCLA Magazine.
But that’s only off the court.
Gordon has impressed coaches with his energy and drive so far this season, even after missing significant time with a foot injury during his senior year of high school.
He currently leads the Bruins in rebounds per 40 minutes, a somewhat obscure stat, but one coach Ben Howland cites. He scored 11 points in his first Pac-10 game at Oregon State and recorded his first double-double Dec. 23 against Wyoming.
Gordon also has the daunting task of backing up star senior forward Alfred Aboya, and defending some of the strongest players in the country. Howland said Gordon will earn more playing time as he learns the defensive nuances that Aboya has mastered.
Last week, Gordon met with Daily Bruin reporter Sam Allen and discussed life off the court, the expectations he and fellow freshmen faced when they arrived at UCLA and his less-publicized ice hockey career.
Daily Bruin: What dorm are you living in and who are your roommates?
Drew Gordon: I’m in Saxon right now. I live with Blake Arnett. The people right next door are Bobo Morgan and Malcolm Lee. It’s cool. Our friendship travels over to the basketball court. If you have a problem on the basketball court, we give each other crap about it in the dorms. I like being able to chill with the basketball team and make sure everyone’s real close off the court, too.
DB: What was fall quarter like?
DG: It was cool. I like school. My high school definitely prepared me for college. I found it to be a pretty easy transition. There were a couple ups and downs, but for the most part it was positive.
DB: Is college basketball what you thought it would be? Any surprises?
DG: It’s definitely a little bit harder than I expected it to be. I expected to come in and just be able to go with the flow. But I had to learn a lot and improve my conditioning.
DB: How different is playing defense at this level, in coach Howland’s system, compared to the high school level?
DG: You can’t get away with anything. You can’t cut corners. That’s probably the biggest thing. In high school, you can cut corners and get lazy. Whereas coach, he says basically, “You have to do this, this and this.” And I will know if I make a mistake.
DB: With all the hype about the freshman class, and people talking about one-and-done, does it feel weird to have all this learning to do and to be focusing on that defensive part of the game that people don’t talk about as much?
DG: That’s the good part of the game. That’s what keeps your feet on the ground. Everybody can hype you up, tell you “˜You can be one-and-done,’ tell you “˜You’re so good.’ But you know you’re not as good as everybody thinks that you are because you know what you’re not doing right. People just see the flashiness, the dunks, everything like that. But really learning the game keeps you grounded.
DB: Do you think fans had unreasonable expectations for the freshman class?
DG: No. … I tend not to listen to it. You don’t want to get wrapped up in that stuff. I expect Jrue (Holiday), if he wants to, could probably go to the NBA. Hopefully, if we work hard enough, we could probably go pro, but that is if everything goes perfect, which is highly unlikely. We’re just going to work until we get to the point, however long it may take.
DB: When you make a decision about where to go to school or whether to enter the draft, who are the people you turn to?
DG: You have to take the people closest to you and who have the best interest for you. You can’t have other people ride you to do something that they want. You can’t have people living through you. You need to make sure that the people who have your best interest in mind help you.
DB: What do you listen to before a game?
DG: A lot of Lil Wayne. He gets me in the rhythm and the flow before game time.
DB: Have you picked out a major yet?
DG: I’m a business-econ major. Right now I’m just taking GEs and getting those out of the way so I can do the hard courses in the spring.
DB: Any ideas for a career after basketball?
DG: Maybe sports broadcasting or something. Something where I don’t have to sit behind a desk all day.
DB: Do you see yourself as a coach?
DG: It’s a long way off. But I think eventually I’m going to want to be around basketball for a while. So I can see myself coaching at some point in time.
DB: Any coaches you still keep in touch with?
DG: Yeah, I keep in touch with my high school coach Brian Eagleson all the time. We talk almost every other day. He’s definitely helped me out. He’s been a main point in my life, basically.
DB: Was it always basketball, or did you play other sports?
DG: I played ice hockey for eight years. My mom went on a business trip to Germany. She came back with a couple gifts ““ I happened to get ice skates. I went to a nearby ice rink, saw a whole bunch of people smashing into each other, being wild on the ice, and I wanted to play.
DB: You could have been the tallest player in the NHL.
DG: Yeah, that’s safe to say.