Brandon Gardner quickly adding high-major offers
Only a couple of years ago, Brandon Gardner was cut from his middle school team. His coach told him that his arms were too long for his body. Fast-forward to present day and Gardner has more than grown into his arms, the sophomore is a defending state champion with multiple high-major offers under his belt.
Gardner claims early offers from DePaul, Georgetown, Winthrop, Clemson, USC Upstate, Ole Miss, South Carolina State, Wichita State, Wake Forest and Illinois.
However, it is two schools which, he says, check in with his coaches most, "Wake Forest and Georgetown."
Gardner went through his thoughts on those two programs.
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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Georgetown: “Georgetown talks to me about being a special player and how much they can’t wait for me to get on campus for a visit.”
Wake Forest: “Wake really likes my game and they believe that I fit their culture and style of play.”
He added, “Both schools are really great basketball schools, and both are serious about academics too. I’m just ready for COVID-19 to be over so I can finally meet the coaches and players.”
GARDNER'S RECRUITMENT CONTINUED
With Gardner being only a sophomore in high school, college coaches are not able to initiate contact directly with him. But there are some other schools he says his coaches hear from often.
“I have received a lot of interest from Florida State, Murray State, South Carolina, NC State and Maryland.”
Each of these schools, while they have not offered, have a similar message they are sharing with Gardner.
“The main thing I keep hearing from them is they want to build a relationship with me and for me to continue working on my game," he said. “I am just grateful for the schools who have believed in me enough to offer me already. I will continue to work hard to improve on and off the court. If I just keep grinding and remain humble, everything will work out.”
However, this early success should come as no surprise to anyone who is paying attention considering his genes.
“My mom is a Hall of Famer at her high school for her accomplishments in sports. She played basketball in college. She played at Claflin at the same time Ja Morant’s dad did.”
RIVALS' REACTION
Watching him play, Gardner is an electric player on the floor, a high-flyer who has won at every level over the past year.
As for who Gardner compares his game to “I’m just trying to create my own style. I want little kids to say they play like Brandon Gardner.”
Gardner has a lot of length and plays with pop. His motor runs hot, throughout the course of a game on both ends of the floor. Gardner is not afraid of sticking his nose in and doing the dirty work as he consistently makes winning plays, whether it be the key offensive rebound, or blocking a shot at the rim. Offensively, he can line up at the high post, in the dunker spots or play as a vertical threat in the pick and roll.