Recruiting Report: Jayden Gardner (2018)
In a world where we judge kids based on potential and upside, we sometimes lose sight of the kids that work hard and produce day-in and day-out. As a 6’6” power forward, Jayden Gardner doesn’t exactly peak your interest when…
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Continue ReadingIn a world where we judge kids based on potential and upside, we sometimes lose sight of the kids that work hard and produce day-in and day-out. As a 6’6” power forward, Jayden Gardner doesn’t exactly peak your interest when you’re watching lay-up lines, but shortly into the game the way he works and dominates in the post will have you using the terms “beast” or “monster” regularly.
Gardner, who plays at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, NC, returned to Richmond last weekend with his Team Loaded NC team to compete in the Big Shots Loaded event. For the second straight season, his team not only won their division (15U last year, 16U this year), Gardner was named the MVP both years as well.
Every coach you talk to about Gardner has the same things to say. He has a never ending motor, he attacks the glass with aggression, he’s physical, he plays bigger than he is, etc. According to Gardner, those are things that he stresses to himself every day on the court.
Jayden Gardner is a walking double-double that hasn’t even scratched the surface.“Just being more aggressive, attacking the rim more and trying to grab every rebound that I can,” he said about what has changed since last summer.
While the sophomore is already a productive forward on both ends, the room for him to grow has a lot of schools interested. He already holds offers from ODU, Richmond, Grambling State and JMU, and lists UVA, NC State, Baylor, Toledo and College of Charleston as some schools that have been showing interest early.
“I just try to outwork and out hustle everyone I play,” Gardner said.
While that’s all stuff that you like to hear from a young player like Gardner, he knows that the hard work doesn’t stop when the buzzer goes off and the game ends. The effort that he puts in to improving his game is the same level of effort he gives while playing in a game.
“I’m working on improving my jump shot and ball handling to help me get to the next level. I keep working to get better, I know there’s always something I can improve on, so I’m going to keep getting better over the summer.”
As he continues to fine tune his skill set, he’ll be a nightmare to guard because of his ability to bully you inside, high motor and how he can run the floor like a wing. With basketball trending toward small ball, expect to hear plenty more about division one schools interested in and inside-out bull like Gardner moving forward.