6’7 ’18 Jayden Gardner (Team Loaded/Heritage HS)
This time three years ago, we were having equivalent conversations about 6’7 Grant Williams of Providence Day. Fast forward to 2017 and one player that continues to be a focal point in our evaluations is 6’7 ’18 Jayden Gardner. College coaches love his aggressive play and effort brought each and every game. However, the general question still exists. What position will he play at the collegiate level' Currently mid majors are showing the most interest simply because his size and skill set is more suited for the power forward position in college. However high majors are somewhat hesitate to pull the trigger since many feel he may be too undersized at the power forward position. His offer list consists of Appalachian State, Arkansas Little-Rock, St. Joseph, Toledo, and St. Bonaventure.
At the 2016 NC Top 80 event, Coach Rob Salter stated it best. “Gardner is a warrior. He plays so hard and does a great job using his body to score. He understands he game and his teammates enjoy playing with him. He competes every possession and has a very bright future. In addition, we were impressed with his on court attitude and play team.”
At the recent David Rose MDC, Jayden Gardner did what he does best and that is winning! We’re talking about a physically developed power forward that has a unique combination of size, skill set and athleticism. While he has tremendous physical attributes, he has a growing list of intangibles that often doesn’t show up in the box score. Gardner has active hands defensively and plays much bigger than his listed height. We were impressed with his ability to play low post defense with his hands raised high. He will get his fair share of blocked shots and does an adequate job of boxing out.
Offensively, Gardner has “passer friendly” hands in the post and more importantly is a willing passer if he doesn’t have a good scoring opportunity. Once he kicks the ball out of the low post, he is then working to re-establish low post position. Without question, he is constantly moving without the ball and doesn’t have to be the focal point of the offense to be effective. He takes what he is given and efficiency in the low post is his calling card. Gardner has excellent footwork in the paint and his passer friendly hands allow him to catch difficult passes into easy scoring opportunities.
Gardner understands the game and knows how to make winning plays. He has the physical attributes, intangibles along with a positive and aggressive attitude that will allow him to outplay his current recruitment level. All one has to do is look at the year 6’7 Grant Williams enjoyed at Tennessee. Both play with that proverbial chip on their shoulder and they just know how to make plays and win. While they are only 6’7, they play much bigger than their listed height. One thing is for certain, you can’t teach heart and both these young men have the heart that will allow them to surprise all the experts and pundits.