Things Are Finally Looking Up for Gardner Family

The recruiting process has changed 180 degrees in the Gardner family.

In the spring of 1963, Tom Gardner, a 6-foot-3 guard, was an all-state selection as a high school senior in Columbia, S.C. With segregation still a fact of life for black athletes in the South, Gardner’s college options were limited. He considered a handful of all-black schools, including Morgan (Md.) State, Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) University and South Carolina State.

All-expenses-paid campus recruiting visits? Not in his wildest dreams. Gardner hadn’t even met the head basketball coach or seen the campus the day he showed up at Morgan State to enroll.

Fast-forward to the spring of 1994. On Friday afternoon, in the gymnasium at Bellflower St. John Bosco, Tom Gardner’s youngest son, Jelani, a highly skilled 6-6 point guard, will announce his college destination this fall. The monthlong spring signing period for basketball players starts Wednesday.

Gardner, who averaged 25.7 points this past season while leading St. John Bosco to its first Southern Section championship in any sport, was one of the most heavily recruited players in the country. He is a natural ballhandler, shoots accurately from three-point range, and has proven to be a leader on the court. Gardner will choose from among three schools--UCLA, Arkansas or California--after also considering Syracuse, Minnesota, Arizona and Arizona State, among many others.

“I’m more confused than ever,” he said with a laugh by phone from his hotel in Troy, Mich., while preparing to play in Sunday’s Magic Johnson high school all-star game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

A number of factors are weighing heavy on Gardner’s mind:

* At Arkansas, which recently won its first national basketball championship, he could be a key performer on a deep and talented team capable of winning a few more titles. But he also would be far from Southern California, in miles and lifestyle. And the school, academically, is not on a par with the other two finalists. Still, with the nation’s No. 1 fan, President Clinton, cheering them on, and a sparkling new 20,000-seat arena, Coach Nolan Richardson’s program is the hottest in the country right now. “I was really happy for the guys,” Gardner said, “but them winning the national championship is not going to affect my decision.”

* At Cal, he would probably inherit the starting point guard position as a freshman, replacing Jason Kidd, who decided to forgo his final two years of college eligibility to enter the NBA draft. As they did with Kidd, the Bears have made a strong late run at Gardner, who for a long time rejected Cal because of the expected media and fan scrutiny likely to follow Kidd’s successor. But a big factor favoring the Bears is 30-year-old Coach Todd Bozeman, who is “like a big brother,” Gardner said. “It would be nice to have that kind of relationship with your coach.”

* At UCLA, it’s the chance to play at home, in front of family and friends, for a team he admits has long been his favorite. “Coach (Jim) Harrick and I have had a friendship since he first saw me play in eighth grade,” Gardner said. “In my mind, I signed my letter of intent with the Bruins back then.” UCLA coaches have told Gardner that he would compete for Shon Tarver’s vacant guard position next season, then could be shifted to point guard a year later, after Tyus Edney departs.

Notes

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski had a dual purpose in Southern California over the weekend: accompany his senior All-American, Grant Hill, to the John R. Wooden Award ceremonies Friday at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and pay a visit to the home of Ventura College forward Brandon Jessie, the former Edison High standout. The 6-6 Jessie will visit Duke this weekend, and is scheduled to take official trips to Georgetown (April 22-24) and Arizona State (April 29-May 1). He visited Utah and Nevada Las Vegas last week, and probably will make unofficial visits to UCLA and UC Santa Barbara before signing. Georgetown Coach John Thompson also dropped by to see Jessie last week . . . Add Ventura: The Pirates, one of the state’s most successful community college programs under former Cal State Fullerton assistant Phil Matthews, have two other Division I prospects: 5-10 Joey Ramirez, who will sign with Pepperdine this week, and forward Michael Tate (6-5, 215), who will choose from among UC Irvine, Utah, Utah State, San Diego State and Pacific.

Arizona State has received an oral commitment from 6-6 forward Joe Zaletel of El Camino College, an outstanding shooter. Zaletel picked the Sun Devils over USC. Other recent commitments: 6-6 forward Zerrick Campbell of Long Beach Poly to San Francisco; 6-5 forward Pharoah Davis of Palmdale Highland to George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and 6-8 forward Mark Sanford of San Diego Lincoln to Washington . . . Add Pac-10 hoops: 6-9, 250-pound forward Ben Davis of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, one of the top prospects in the country, is trying to decide between Arizona and Georgia Tech. How much does Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins covet the powerful but well-traveled Davis, who began his college career at Kansas and also stayed briefly at Florida? So much so that, sources say, he might offer an assistant’s position to Davis’ coach at Hutchinson, Steve McLain.

Cal State Fullerton, with four scholarships to give, would like to sign Long Beach Poly point guard Dion Holton (6-0), a defensive specialist. Holton was a weekend visitor to Portland, which is still without a head coach (former Arizona assistant Tony McAndrews and Maryland-Eastern Shore Coach Rob Chavez are the front-runners). Titan coaches, disappointed at not getting Zaletel, who they had recruited all season, and in need of immediate help, will probably offer their remaining scholarships to out-of-state community college prospects . . . Two standouts from Magnolia High, 6-6 Brandon Harvey, and 6-4 Frank Henderson, are expected to sign with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

All-American forward Willie Mitchell of Detroit announced after the Magic Johnson game Sunday that, as expected, he would attend Michigan. All three of the West’s front-court starters--Mitchell, 6-8 Maurice Taylor (22 points, five blocked shots, team MVP) of Detroit and 6-9 Maceo Baston (13 points, nine rebounds) of Dallas--are now headed to Michigan.

. . . Add all-stars: Jelani Gardner scored 10 points, including two NBA three-pointers, and had seven assists in the East’s 141-135 victory.