Aaron Gordon’s freshman season with the Arizona Wildcats is going about as well as planned, with the five-star recruit starting and performing at a high level for the top-ranked team in the country.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Gordon is second on the team with 12.3 points per game but leads the undefeated squad in rebounding, pulling down 7.8 rebounds per contest. He’s shooting .488 from the field and blocking a shot per game. His only weakness — and it’s a big one — is free throw shooting, where Gordon is shooting a dismal 45 percent.

But his defense has been exceptional, and there’s no denying that without Gordon, odds are the Wildcats (20-0, 7-0) are not still undefeated and looking like one of the favorites to cut down the nets in Arlington, TX.

If all goes according to plan, that’s exactly what will happen. And then, Gordon will leave.

According to Tom Fitzgerald of SFGate.com, Gordon’s mother, Shelly Davis, says odds are Gordon will spend just one season in Tucson.

“You never know how that’s going to play out until the end of the season,” Davis said. “If everything goes as planned, he most likely will enter the draft. We’re OK with that. You only have so many jumps in your legs. You have to pursue it when you can.”

Davis went on to add that Gordon would like to be a college coach someday, meaning he’d have to earn his degree at some point.

But first, Gordon will take his shot at the NBA, and you could hardly blame him for being a “one-and-done” player if that is indeed the case. Unlike Grant Jarrett, who left for the NBA after a fairly nondescript freshman season, Gordon has generally been expected to be a short-timer in the Old Pueblo.

And if he can lead the Wildcats to a championship, it’s unlikely anyone will complain.

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