Texas Basketball: 3 new portal targets the Horns are interested in May
Myron Gardner, F*
At the moment, it’s clear that the top two portal targets for Terry and the Longhorns that we know of are Sellers and Rodman. But if something doesn’t work out with either Rodman or Sellers, it’s worth taking a look at some of the other possible portal targets available that can fill the positional and rotational needs that Terry and the Longhorns are seeking out.
One possible option among wings that could fill the aforementioned three-and-D role for the Longhorns is the former Little Rock Trojans and Georgetown junior forward, Myron Gardner. The 6-foot-6 and 225-pound third-year forward was the best player on an otherwise pretty bad Little Rock team that finished eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference last season.
Gardner was an All-OVC Second-Team selection for his career-best efforts last season at Little Rock. He averaged an impressive 13.2 points per game, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from deep, and 75.5 percent from the stripe.
Last season at Little Rock, Gardner played most of his minutes as a smaller four, while getting roughly a quarter of his minutes at the three. He was an incredible rebounder, especially on the defensive end of the floor, averaging seven defensive rebounds per game.
Gardner also ranked third in the OVC last season in total rebounding percentage (16.5).
On the offensive end, Gardner is a solid secondary playmaker on the wing that can facilitate the offense or get his own buckets driving to the rim. Gardner can also play off ball, as he shot a sparkling 54.3 percent on uncontested catch-and-shoot three-pointers last season (per Synergy).
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There is a little bit more to Gardner’s game than perhaps meets the eye. He’s also got upside that wasn’t fully realized at Little Rock or during his true freshman campaign at Georgetown. If he were hypothetically willing to adjust to a less ball-dominant role that will emphasize him playing some switchable defense at the three or the four next season, I like what Gardner brings to the table given the Longhorns’ needs in the rotation.