He’s Caught Off Guard : After Starting at Point as Freshman, Cal’s Gardner Has Split Time Between Positions

Do not be mistaken by California guard Jelani Gardner’s baby face or soft words. He’s a fighter when things get tough, and things have seldom been tougher for him than they are this season.

As a 6-foot-6 sophomore, big things were expected of him after he finished last season as the Bears’ starting point guard.

Instead of stepping forward as Cal’s leader on the court, however, he had to adjust to a role that calls for him to split time between point and shooting guard.

“I started the season off real good. . . . I was running point and we were pushing the ball up the court and playing well as a team,” said Gardner, who will probably start at the point today when Cal plays host to USC. “Then, after I didn’t have a good game, I was moved to two-guard.”

Gardner leads the team in assists, averaging 4.2, but he spends less time with the ball because of the addition of freshman Shareef Abdur-Rahim and junior college transfers Prentice McGruder and Ed Gray.

When Gardner did not start in a recent Pacific 10 Conference game for the first time this season, rumors circulated that he was looking to transfer.

But that is not his style.

“Every time you go to practice, you see so many talented guys on this team,” Gardner said. “We are all searching for the right chemistry and for all of us to get comfortable with our roles. I’m determined to play wherever I’m needed--whether that is point or two-guard--to help the team win.”

Those close to Gardner notice that he is more determined this year.

“He left here a boy, but all indications are that he definitely is becoming a man,” said Gardner’s father, Tommy. “He’s making decisions and staying focused about everything in his life.”

Gardner agreed. “My career’s going good, and I’m enjoying college because I’m learning about life. I feel that not only will I be a better basketball player, but I will also be a better person, more knowledgeable about life, when I’m finished.”

When Gardner graduated from high school, he was regarded as one of the top 10 recruits in the nation. He was state player of the year after leading St. John Bosco to its first Southern Section title in 1994.

Gardner averaged 25.2 points and shot 56% from the field as a senior. When he decided to attend Cal, basketball experts predicted that he would instantly ease the loss of Jason Kidd, who opted for the NBA after his sophomore year.

Kidd, however, had created an impossible standard. Gardner averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 assists as a freshman, but suffered by comparison to his predecessor.

That’s why Cal Coach Todd Bozeman recruited traditional point guard McGruder, who is four inches shorter than Gardner, for this season.

“[McGruder] has a lot of intangibles I really haven’t seen since Jason Kidd left,” Bozeman said when he signed McGruder, who has started nine of the last 10 games and is second behind Gardner in assists.

Gardner is playing 27 minutes a game, the same as last season, and is scoring about the same, 10.8.

Cal’s identity, however, has changed. No longer are the Bears dominated by a point guard--Abdur-Rahim and Gray are the leaders. Throw in the recent return of Tremaine Fowlkes, the Pac-10 freshman of the year last season who was suspended by the NCAA for the first 14 games, and the Bears are a different team.

“It took us a while to get things going without Tremaine, and then once we did he finally came back,” Gardner said. “Now we’re trying to get him to blend in with the chemistry we already had to take our team to a higher level.”

Despite Gardner’s changing role, Bozeman is still high on him.

“This is a transition year for him after playing only as a point guard as a freshman,” Bozeman said. “Jelani is more of a combo guard. He has a lot to learn about playing both point and shooting guard and how he can blend into our system. He’s going through an adjustment period.

“When we brought him here, we knew that he had had an outstanding high school career where he did a lot of scoring. But we have a bunch of guys on our team who were asked to score in high school. Once you get to college, you have to adjust to new roles. We want our point to know his job and get everyone else going. They have to be our leader and take criticism if things don’t go right.”

Gardner does not see Bozeman’s view as negative.

“I feel that I’m better with the ball in my hands but, to me, being a combo guard is not a bad thing to be,” he said.

“Being a versatile player means that you are more valuable. It means that you can play anything, and being a complete basketball player is my goal.”