1999 IHSAA Class 4A State Champion and Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner of North Central High School has joined the the Loyola (Ill.) coaching staff. The move was first reported by Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star.
I like this move, and Loyola is getting a winner in Gardner.
After deciding to end his overseas playing career, Jason Gardner wanted to move into coaching. He talked with various coaches around the state including IU head coach Tom Crean. He came down to Bloomington for a couple days to take noes on how Crean and his staff do things. Last winter, Gardner joined the Cathedral High School coaching staff.
Gardner was extremely talented coming out of North Central, he headed west to play ball at Arizona and led them to the NCAA title game in 2001, losing to Duke.
The under-sized point guard always dreamt of playing ball in the NBA but he never got a bite from a team. My guess is they thought he was too small to guard the opposing guard and would be a weakness on defense. And his offense wasn’t so polished that it was worth him being on the court. I was a big fan of a game, so it’s a shame he didn’t get his chance.
Taking an assistant position with Porter Moser’s Loyola staff is a great stepping stone. (Ironically, this is the job left vacant when former IU guard Michael Lewis accepted the job, but later left for Butler.) He wants to be a coach but clearly understand he has to lay the groundwork and see how to handle things at all different levels. After a few years, I look for Gardner to move on to a head coaching job, at a place like IPFW. Dane Fife transformed the school’s team and is now an assistant at Michigan State.
This is a great move by Jason Gardner and I am always proud to see a fellow Panther succeed. I will never forget his 1999 buzzer-beater over Bloomington South at Hinkle Fieldhouse, to propel the Panthers into the 1999 state finals at the RCA Dome. I remember exactly where I was sitting.
And now, Gardner is determined to make an impact–this time, a few seats up on the bench.