Unhappy Gardner Transfers From Cal to Pepperdine

California sophomore guard Jelani Gardner, who lost his starting job last season, is transferring to Pepperdine, his father said Monday night.

“He’d been up there two years and things weren’t improving,” Tom Gardner said. “He played the least he ever had in his last four or five games and things weren’t getting any better.”

Gardner is transferring to Pepperdine to play for new Coach Lorenzo Romar, who recruited him when he was a UCLA assistant.

“Lorenzo has been recruiting him since the eighth grade,” the elder Gardner said. “They have great rapport.”

Gardner, who plans to finish the semester at Cal before enrolling at Pepperdine, next summer or fall, hopes to meet with Romar this weekend.

A prep All-American at St. John Bosco High in Bellflower in 1994, Gardner averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 assists as a freshman, but averaged only 2.4 points and 4.1 assists last season after his playing time decreased.