Jayden Gardner Lands on Athlon Sports Top 100 College Basketball Players List

Jayden Gardner was the only UVA basketball player to land on Athlon Sports’ Top 100 College Basketball Players list. The East Carolina transfer came in at No. 83, just ahead of fellow incoming ACC transfer Paul Atkinson (from Yale).

Gardner played three seasons at ECU between 2018-21, averaging 18 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He was also an all-conference selection multiple times and ranked as the 13th-best transfer by CBS Sports.

With so many graduates and outgoing transfers, Gardner will step right in and be a featured frontcourt option for the ’21-22 Wahoos. Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin is also projected to be a starter and significant piece.

“We needed some experience,” head coach Tony Bennett told ESPN Richmond at Tuesday’s ACC Tip-Off, “because the rest of our roster was very young and inexperienced.”

Sophomores Kadin Shedrick and Reece Beekman and veteran point guard Kihei Clark round out the projected starting five.

Some would argue Clark, who appeared on their regional magazine cover, deserved to be among Athlon’s Top 100 ballplayers. He is the heart and soul of Virginia’s team and an established commodity on the national college hoops scene. His numbers are never gaudy, but he’s the kind of player you need to watch for a few weeks to appreciate.

Virginia opens its season on November 9th at home against Navy (9 p.m.) on ACC Network.

In total, 13 players from the ACC made Athlon’s Top 100 list; Notre Dame and Duke both had three players apiece, while North Carolina had two. Louisville, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia, and Virginia Tech all had one.