My two cents: Ex-Cat Gardner will turn IUPUI around
Jason Gardner, whose jersey No. 22 hangs on the wall at McKale Center, was a senior in an Indianapolis high school when Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis fielded its first Division I basketball team in 1998-99.
He is now the first-year head coach at IUPUI: His Jaguars went 10-21 this season and tied for sixth in the Summit League.
He is a battler. If you remember Gardner’s Arizona career, he never stepped off the gas, and incoming transfers could give his team even more fuel next season.
“I have to say our future looks very bright,” Gardner said after IUPUI’s season ended. “We had a lot of guys get a lot of experience this year. Then you add four guys that have major Division I experience, and it’s going to be an absolute battle for playing time next season.”
Gardner, 34, isn’t likely to be down long.
