Gardner led East Carolina in scoring (18.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.0) and was one of three players in Division I men’s basketball to average 15 points and eight rebounds in each of the past three seasons, doing the vast majority of his work in the paint.
Other schools in the mix for Gardner were Arkansas, Louisiana State, Miami and North Carolina State.
“This has been a hard decision for me, but I just want to thank God and my family for helping me to come to a decision,” Gardner posted to his Twitter page. “It has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to play in the ACC and compete against the best of the best.”
Gardner finished in the top three in rebounding in the AAC in each of his seasons at East Carolina. The Cavaliers finished seventh out of 15 teams in the ACC in rebounding this past season and will be without their top two rebounders from last season, Jay Huff and Sam Hauser.
Virginia’s third leading rebounder, Trey Murphy III, also may not return. The junior transfer from Rice announced via Twitter he would enter the NBA draft but retain his eligibility. Murphy averaged 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2020-21.
Gardner’s arrival in Charlottesville comes less than a week after Armaan Franklin announced he was transferring to Virginia from Indiana, where the 6-4 sophomore guard was second on the Hoosiers in scoring (11.4) and shot 42.4 percent on three-pointers over 20 starts.
Virginia (18-7, 13-4 ACC), the reigning ACC regular season champion, is graduating three of its top four three-point shooters in Tomas Woldetensae (41.8), Hauser (41.7) and Huff (38.7). Murphy led the Cavaliers in three-point field goal percentage (43.3).
“Excited about the next chapter in my hoops life,” Franklin posted to his Twitter page with an image of himself in a Virginia uniform while tagging @uvamenshoops. “Still, have to say a big thanks to the IU community, fans and my teammates for all their support.”
Franklin joins a backcourt rotation featuring starters Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman. Clark, a junior, Beekman, a freshman, and junior forward Francisco Caffaro are the only Cavaliers assured of returning next season who played in No. 4 seed Virginia’s 62-58 loss to No. 13 seed Ohio in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
A handful of contributors from this past season’s team recently announced they would be transferring, including sophomore guard Casey Morsell. The former starter and Washington Post first-team All-Met from St. John’s College High is heading to North Carolina State.
Morsell struggled offensively during his time with the Cavaliers, averaging 4.2 points, and never became a regular member of the rotation. He was among Virginia’s top defenders, although Beekman, who led the Cavaliers in steals, eventually overtook Morsell for a starting spot.
Beekman further secured his standing as one of Virginia’s most promising players by making a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Syracuse, 72-69, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals at Greensboro Coliseum.
Morsell shot 26.3 percent from behind the arc last season and started three times.
Virginia also lost Jabri Abdur-Rahim, a freshman who is transferring to Georgia. The Top-40 recruit and son of former NBA standout Shareef Abdur-Rahim played in eight games last season, shooting 20 percent, mostly as a backup to Murphy.
