Ben Gordon was never an All-American, and may not have been even the second best player on the powerful Connecticut teams of the early 2000's. He was, however, a powerful scorer, a fearless defender, and perhaps the most clutch performer in the history of the Big East tournament for anyone not named Kemba Walker.

Born in London and raised in Westchester County, New York, Gordon selected Connecticut over Seton Hall in the fall of 2000, where he completed his high school career ranked #41 in the nation. Despite starting only two games all season behind guards Tony Robertson and Taliek Brown, Gordon finished the 2001-02 season second on the team in scoring and was named to the Big East All-Tournament team as a freshman, as the Huskies won nine straight wins en route to the Big East conference title and winning three more before falling to Maryland in the NCAA regional final.

Gordon won the starting role at guard in the 2002-03 season and was a major factor for the Huskies over the next two seasons. He led the team in scoring as a sophomore, with a season high 32 versus Miami on 12 for 14 shooting, was third on the team in rebounding despite being only 6-3, and posted a team high 4.7 assists per game. Gordon scored 50 points in three Big East tournament games, leading the Huskies to the final where they fell to Pittsburgh in a rematch of the 2002 championship.

On a 2003-04 Connecticut team that featured six future NBA players, Gordon was a force all season as the Huskies captured its second NCAA tournament title. He led the team in scoring, averaging 18.5 points per game, along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 rebounds. Gordon shot the same from two point range as from three - 43 percent-- and could score as well as set up his teammates. A 37 point game with Nevada was a season high, followed by 34 against UMass.

Gordon's third Big East tournament was his best. He opened with 29 points versus Notre Dame, matched it with 29 in the semifinal versus Villanova, and 23 in the final versus Pitt, earning him the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the tournament's most valuable player with a record 81 points in the tournament. A three year selection to the All-Tournament team, his cumulative record in the Big East tournament was 8-1.

In the 2004 NCAA's, Gordon continued the scoring with 36 points versus Alabama in the 2004 regional final, and a combined 37 in Final Four games versus Duke and Georgia Tech for a six game total of 127.

An early entry candidate in the 2004 NBA draft, Ben Gordon was selected third in the NBA draft, just behind teammate Emeka Okafor. The first rookie ever to be named the NBA's Sixth Man of The Year, Gordon played 12 seasons with four NBA teams.