Derrick Gordon was the first publicly out gay man to play in a Division I basketball game when he took the court for the Univ. of Massachusetts Minutemen almost 18 months ago.
Now Gordon is on the precipice of another first: No player, possibly until now, has ever played in an NCAA tournament game for three different schools. Gordon previously started for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and UMass in their runs to the tournament. This season, largely coming off the bench for Seton Hall, Gordon has averaged 8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Pirates.
Oh, and the fact that Gordon is gay has been no issue for the team, coaches or fans. It's barely been a mention in the media. As we've said over and over and over again, the "media distraction" of gay athletes moves on quickly and is totally overblown.
So what are the chances of Seton Hall making the tournament? They got a lot better this weekend after the Pirates took down two ranked teams: previously-ranked Providence College and No. 5 Xavier. Seton Hall's RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) has them currently ranked No. 33. They are currently 27th and 28th in the AP and Coaches polls, respectively.
The team has two more regular-season games, both on the road at Butler and DePaul, before the Big East tournament. If they can just split their next two games and then win at least one game in the Big East tournament, that should be good enough to get them into the Big Dance. Winning their next three or four games could set them up nicely for a top-8 seed.
Will Gordon make history again? We'll find out in two weeks.
