During the subsequent offseason, Gordon was recruited by Sampson's staff after Gordon told Sampson he was again interested in Indiana. It was rumored in July 2006 that Gordon was considering opting out of his verbal commitment to Illinois because of concerns about the quality of Weber's Illinois recruiting class, but Gordon said that although he was a childhood fan of the Hoosiers and was considering Indiana, he was still committed to Illinois. During that same month, Gordon played with fellow top-5 recruit Derrick Rose in an attempt to convince Rose to join him at Illinois, but Rose declined the offer.
