Jayden Gardner – East Carolina
2018-19 season stats: 16.3 pts, 8.5 rebs
The East Carolina Pirates won just 10 games in 2018-19 and their 3-15 record in the American Athletic Conference was passed in futility by Tulane’s winless record. There was, however, a bright spot and that was 6’6 forward Jayden Gardner who had little trouble getting acclimated to college basketball’s highest level.
The native of Wake Forest, North Carolina was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and shot over 49% from the field on the season. In the growing are of positionless basketball where anyone can play anywhere on the floor and it seems like every player likes to shoot the long-range shots, Gardner is a bit of a throwback, as the forward attempted just 10 three-pointers, making just two.
The first-year player netted 16.3 points per game and grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game. Gardner had plenty of breakout games in his first year, people knew very early on that he would be a force. Before Christmas, he had games of 30 points and 10 rebounds, 28 points, and 17 rebounds, and 30 points and 15 rebounds. His best game of the year came against Central Florida in mid-January when he went off for 35 points and 20 rebounds in a loss to the Knights.