Jason Gardner returns to Indianapolis to make an impact in high school basketball. This time from the sidelines. The 1999 Indiana Mr. Basketball from North Central High School is now an assistant coach at Cathedral High School.
Gardner is the second coach with ties to North Central on the Irish coaching staff. Varsity assistant Matt Green coached in Washington Township at Eastwood Middle School and at North Central for the last decade before leaving for Cathedral. Green is also the head coach of one of Eric Gordon All-Star AAU teams.
#22 led the Panthers of North Central to the 1999 State Championship in the RCA Dome. The semi-state game at Hinkle Fieldhouse was the best game of the tournament as Gardner was able to dribble the length of the floor and throw up a three-point heave from 30 feet to advance to the state finals. It was a miraculous shot in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
At 29, Jason now turns his focus towards coaching. He was in Bloomington last week observing Indiana practices and learning from Coach Tom Crean and staff. He was even on hand for last Friday’s “Night of the Living Red” special event.
Jason joins Andy Fagan’s staff at Cathedral after playing overseas post college. He will be the junior varsity coach, a big role for a young inexperienced coach.
Jason chose to play college ball at the University of Arizona from 1999 to 2003 and lost in the 2001 championship game to Duke. The undersized, 5-10 point guard averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 assists per game and returned to UA in 2005 to have his jersey number (22) retired.
Gardner went undrafted after college but continued his basketball playing days in Slovenia, Belgium, Israel, and Germany. He thrived in each of the leagues including being named the 2008 and 2009 MVP of the German basketball league. His team finished third in the regular season with a 25-9 record.