Jayden David Darrel Gardner (born May 14, 2000) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Rasta Vechta Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German basketball club based in Vechta, Lower Saxony. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), following their promotion from the ProA in 2022–23. Founded in 1979, the club has spent the majority of its ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL). He played college basketball for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

and the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the sport, athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA ...

High school career

Gardner played for Heritage High School in

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Wake and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in ...

for four years. He averaged 22.9 points and 15.1 rebounds per game as a junior and was named CAP-8 Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-State, leading his team to a 28–2 record. As a senior, Gardner averaged 24.3 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. He led Heritage to the

NCHSAA The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across ...

Class 4A state championship game, where he recorded 30 points and 13 rebounds. He was named Northern Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was a First Team All-State selection. Gardner finished high school with the second-most points behind Donald Williams and the most rebounds and free throws made in

Wake County Wake County, officially the County of Wake, is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake Count ...

history. He was rated a three-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

and committed to play college basketball for

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

over offers from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and VCU, among others.

College career

East Carolina

In his third game at East Carolina, on November 11, 2018, Gardner recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds in an 84–78 overtime win over Lamar. He became the third freshman in school history to score at least 30 points in a game. On November 21, Gardner posted 28 points and 17 rebounds in a 76–64 victory over

Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

. Six days later, he tallied 30 points and 15 rebounds in a 95–86 loss to

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

, becoming the first-ever

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) freshman with multiple 30-point games. On January 13, 2019, Gardner posted a career-high 35 points and 20 rebounds in a 76–65 loss to UCF. He became the first East Carolina player since 1966 with a 30-point, 20-rebound game and the first freshman in AAC history to record at least 35 points or 20 rebounds in a game. Two days later, he was named

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

National Freshman of the Week. As a freshman, Gardner averaged 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, setting school freshman records for rebounds and free throws and AAC freshman records for points per game and free throws. He led all

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

freshmen in free throws, with 171, and registered 10

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

s. He was a five-time AAC Freshman of the Week and was unanimously selected to the AAC All-Rookie Team. On November 5, 2019, Gardner made his sophomore season debut, tallying 28 points and 11 rebounds in an 80–68 win over VMI. On January 1, 2020, he recorded a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds in a 75–69 loss to

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

. Gardner scored 29 points again and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds in a 69–59 loss to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

on January 29. Gardner became the third-fastest East Carolina player to reach 1,000 career points in a February 12 loss to

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

. On February 23, he scored 29 points for his third time during the season, while grabbing 13 rebounds in a 67–63 victory over

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged an AAC-leading 19.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, posting 13 double-doubles, and was named to the Second Team All-AAC. He averaged the third-most points in school history. As a junior, Gardner averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, earning First Team All-AAC honors.

Virginia

On April 12, 2021, Gardner transferred to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for his final two seasons of eligibility, choosing the Cavaliers over offers from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, among others. All Division I athletes who played in the 2020–21 season gained an extra year of eligibility. On December 3, he scored 15 points and hit the game-winning putback shot in a 57–56 win against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Gardner was named to the Third Team All-ACC. In the Cavaliers’ 2022–23 season opener, Gardner reached the 2,000 career point milestone becoming one of few players ever in D1 to achieve 2,000 points and 1000 rebounds in a career. Gardner helped Virginia capture another ACC regular season championship. Lead the Cavaliers to the ACC championship and got rewarded First Team All ACC Tourbament Team. Leading the Cavaliers to a 4 seed Gardner made his first ncaa tournament appearance. On January 8, 2023 he recorded his 1,000th rebound, joining an exclusive list of Division I players who reached both the 2000-point / 1000-rebound milestones.

Professional career

Kortrijk Spurs

Gardner signed with the Kortrijk Spurs on July 20, 2023 for the 2023-24 season. Gardner had a very successful rookie year in Belgium averaging 15.3 ppg 6 Rbs 1.1 ass a game shooting 50%fg and 34% from 3pt

Rasta Vechta

On August 3, 2024, he signed with

of the

(BBL).

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 30.6 , , .493 , , .200 , , .750 , , 8.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 30 , , 34.3 , , .521 , , .200 , , .734 , , 9.2 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 18 , , 35.1 , , .479 , , .500 , , .737 , , 8.3 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.7 , , .501 , , .214 , , .793 , , 6.4 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .4 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 26.3 , , .510 , , .000 , , .685 , , 5.8 , , .7 , , .9 , , .5 , , 12.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 149 , , 147 , , 31.5 , , .503 , , .226 , , .741 , , 7.5 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , 16.1

Professional

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023-24 , style="text-align:left;",

Kortrijk Spurs The Kortrijk Spurs, for sponsorship reasons known as House of Talents Spurs, are a Belgian professional basketball club based in Kortrijk. As of 2023, the club features 62 teams which makes it the largest basketball club in Belgium. Its first men' ...

, 25 , , 32 , , 28.1 , , .50, , .34 , , .64 , , 6 , , 1.1, , .6, , .3 , , 15.3 , -

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bioEast Carolina Pirates bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Jayden 2000 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American men's basketball players Basketball players from Durham, North Carolina East Carolina Pirates men's basketball players Kortrijk Spurs players Power forwards SC Rasta Vechta players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players