Jelani Gardner's son is a SMC Gael

2,876 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 14 days ago by bearister
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:49p, 9/22/26
Jazz Gardner - Men's Basketball - SMC California Athletics https://smcgaels.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jazz-gardner/7386
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 12:58p, 9/23/26
bearister said:
Jazz Gardner - Men's Basketball - SMC California Athletics https://smcgaels.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jazz-gardner/7386

Do you know if Cal ever recruited him?
Reply Quote
MilleniaBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 2:19p, 9/23/26
I'm sure Jelani has a recording of all the recruiting dinners.
Reply Quote
2
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to MilleniaBear • 2:24p, 9/23/26
MilleniaBear said:
I'm sure Jelani has a recording of all the recruiting dinners.

Sorry, I'm not understanding your comment. Are you saying Cal never recruited him? Or are you saying Cal recruited him but got turned down.
Reply Quote
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 3:53p, 9/23/26
I assume it is a reference to the Jelani Gardner scandal under the Todd "It's a simple game, two baskets and a ball" Bozeman reign.

My wife saw a very tall young man buying food at Tutu's in Lafayette yesterday and the cashier said his name was Jazz. I used that clue to ID him.

PAGE ONE -- Probe of Possible Bribe To Cal Player's Family / Accusations focus on ex-hoops coach https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PAGE-ONE-Probe-of-Possible-Bribe-To-Cal-2967608.php

Ex-Coach's Violations Bring Probation To Cal Basketball https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jul/18/ex-coachs-violations-bring-probation-to-cal/
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
2
3 edits
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 6:11p, 9/23/26
bearister said:
I assume it is a reference to the Jelani Gardner scandal under the Todd "It's a simple game, two baskets and a ball" Bozeman reign.

My wife saw a very tall young man buying food at Tutu's in Lafayette yesterday and the cashier said his name was Jazz. I used that clue to ID him.

PAGE ONE -- Probe of Possible Bribe To Cal Player's Family / Accusations focus on ex-hoops coach https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PAGE-ONE-Probe-of-Possible-Bribe-To-Cal-2967608.php

Ex-Coach's Violations Bring Probation To Cal Basketball https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jul/18/ex-coachs-violations-bring-probation-to-cal/

Thanks! This all happened before I matriculated at Cal (literally just months before, in the case of the penalties being assessed).

It sounds like Jelani Gardner's dad was a bit of a jerk. He got what he wanted, then he flipped on the coach who gave him what he wanted. While I'm not absolving the coach of responsibility, the dad really deserved some sort of punishment. Maybe disgorgement of the funds and additional fines? Also, I suspect the dad didn't report the extra income in his taxes; the IRS really should've audited him.

I also don't understand why the NCAA didn't suspend Jelani Gardner, even if he had been in the dark about the payments his dad received. That's the only way to prevent hangers-on from benefiting from the student-athlete in violation of the professionalism rules (at least back in the 90s).

Reply Quote
1
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
6:15p, 9/23/26
Seems well traveled: 2 high schools and 3 colleges (so far).
Reply Quote
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 7:03p, 9/23/26
I had but one criticism of Jelani:
He was a point guard whose dribble height was mid chest level. He continually got stripped.

*I had season tickets from 1987 to 2025. I dumped them because Cuonzo Martin, Wyking Jones, Mark Fox, the death of the Pac 12, joining the ACC, NIL and The Portal murdered Cal basketball and buried it in a shallow grave……but what a wonderful ride it was when 12,000 fans Rocked the Haas and the players were there for 3 and 4 years, knew all the Cal traditions and all felt like my sons (today you have to memorize a new roster every season just like you have to for the A's).

*What a futuristic move it would have been to have simply renovated Harmon and left the seating capacity the same instead of a 12,000 seat expansion doomed to suffer crowds of 3000 from now until the death of college sports.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
6
3 edits
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 7:41p, 9/23/26
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.
Reply Quote
6
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 7:51p, 9/23/26
stu said:
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.

Harmon favorite Memory # 37:
Brian Hendrick getting into a punch out with Wayne Womack every time we played Arizona. Those lads had a distinct dislike for one another.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
2
1 edit
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 8:47p, 9/23/26
stu said:
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.

That would be me. My first experience with Cal basketball (aside from watching Cal in the March Madness Tournament during the Jason Kidd and years) was in the renovated Haas Pavilion. I never got to experience Harmon. That said, I really liked Haas. If Cal can manage to pack it, it can definitely be the Haas of Pain. The question is whether Cal can manage to pack it.
Reply Quote
calumnus
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 9:48p, 9/23/26
01Bear said:
bearister said:
I assume it is a reference to the Jelani Gardner scandal under the Todd "It's a simple game, two baskets and a ball" Bozeman reign.

My wife saw a very tall young man buying food at Tutu's in Lafayette yesterday and the cashier said his name was Jazz. I used that clue to ID him.

PAGE ONE -- Probe of Possible Bribe To Cal Player's Family / Accusations focus on ex-hoops coach https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PAGE-ONE-Probe-of-Possible-Bribe-To-Cal-2967608.php

Ex-Coach's Violations Bring Probation To Cal Basketball https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jul/18/ex-coachs-violations-bring-probation-to-cal/

Thanks! This all happened before I matriculated at Cal (literally just months before, in the case of the penalties being assessed).

It sounds like Jelani Gardner's dad was a bit of a jerk. He got what he wanted, then he flipped on the coach who gave him what he wanted. While I'm not absolving the coach of responsibility, the dad really deserved some sort of punishment. Maybe disgorgement of the funds and additional fines? Also, I suspect the dad didn't report the extra income in his taxes; the IRS really should've audited him.

I also don't understand why the NCAA didn't suspend Jelani Gardner, even if he had been in the dark about the payments his dad received. That's the only way to prevent hangers-on from benefiting from the student-athlete in violation of the professionalism rules (at least back in the 90s).


The agent who supposedly FedExed the cash from LA to Bozeman in Berkeley to FedEx to the Gardners in LA was Jelani's uncle and Benoit Benjamin's agent, who lived blocks away from the Gardners in LA. A year ahead of when all this supposedly happened Bozeman had reported the same agent to the NCAA for loaning money to Jelani's friend, Cal forward Tremaine Fowlkes, to buy a car in LA.

Meanwhile, a female student Gelani introduced to Bozeman and got him involved in the "friends helping friends" ponzi scheme, pressed charges against Bozeman for sexual harassment after Jelani was benched, but dropped the charges after Bozeman resigned allowing Jelani to transfer to Pepperdine without having to sit out a year as per the then current NCAA rules.
Reply Quote
2
2 edits
MilleniaBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 9:51p, 9/23/26
Jelani's dad flipped on Bozeman because he was trying to have Jelani avoid the sit out a year penalty that transfers had to endure at the time. He hoped by throwing Bozeman and Cal under the bus that Jelani would be able to play immediately at his new school.

Sadly the whole episode was later used in the Holmoe academic fiasco to justify penalizing Cal as a "repeat offender" . Fun times.
Reply Quote
3
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to MilleniaBear • 6:42a, 9/24/26
…..and the irony being that the entire falling dominos event was set in motion by the overvaluing of a mediocre player.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
3
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 8:36a, 9/24/26
01Bear said:
stu said:
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.

That would be me. My first experience with Cal basketball (aside from watching Cal in the March Madness Tournament during the Jason Kidd and years) was in the renovated Haas Pavilion. I never got to experience Harmon. That said, I really liked Haas. If Cal can manage to pack it, it can definitely be the Haas of Pain. The question is whether Cal can manage to pack it.

Packed is key. Of course Harmon was easier to pack and I saw many games when it was full. Another difference was the stands started right at the sidelines (the baskets were mounted to the ceiling) so everyone was much closer to the court. The players and refs could hear every comment, except when it got so loud nobody could hear anything. Once during a timeout the opposing coach moved his entire team and their chairs to center court so they could hear him. It didn't help.
Reply Quote
4
HearstMining
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 9:42a, 9/24/26
01Bear said:
stu said:
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.

That would be me. My first experience with Cal basketball (aside from watching Cal in the March Madness Tournament during the Jason Kidd and years) was in the renovated Haas Pavilion. I never got to experience Harmon. That said, I really liked Haas. If Cal can manage to pack it, it can definitely be the Haas of Pain. The question is whether Cal can manage to pack it.

To be honest, there were plenty of 3k-4k Harmon crowds preceding the Kidd years. Cal basketball was fairly bleak from 1972 until Kevin Johnson / Campanelli around 1985, but they always sold out for UCLA and occasionally Stanford and it did rock.

I also recall signing up for PE classes in Harmon, which was first-come, first-served. If you wanted a high demand class, you got there early and sat for an hour or two in the bleachers waiting to be called down to select your PE class, hoping it was still available.

My favorite Harmon moment? 1969 - Cal took UCLA, with Kareem and Wicks, into overtime before losing. My ears were ringing at the end.
Reply Quote
3
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HearstMining • 3:37p, 9/24/26
HearstMining said:
01Bear said:
stu said:
Exactly. Especially Harmon Gym. No way to describe that to someone who never experienced it.

That would be me. My first experience with Cal basketball (aside from watching Cal in the March Madness Tournament during the Jason Kidd and years) was in the renovated Haas Pavilion. I never got to experience Harmon. That said, I really liked Haas. If Cal can manage to pack it, it can definitely be the Haas of Pain. The question is whether Cal can manage to pack it.

To be honest, there were plenty of 3k-4k Harmon crowds preceding the Kidd years. Cal basketball was fairly bleak from 1972 until Kevin Johnson / Campanelli around 1985, but they always sold out for UCLA and occasionally Stanford and it did rock.

I also recall signing up for PE classes in Harmon, which was first-come, first-served. If you wanted a high demand class, you got there early and sat for an hour or two in the bleachers waiting to be called down to select your PE class, hoping it was still available.

My favorite Harmon moment? 1969 - Cal took UCLA, with Kareem and Wicks, into overtime before losing. My ears were ringing at the end.

I really appreciate these stories from Cal's past. I used to love reading SFBear's posts for that reason. (BTW, does anyone know how he's doing? I haven't seen anything from him in a long time.)

I really wish I got to see KJ and J Kidd play at Cal in their college days. They were two of my favorite NBA players later on (before I even applied to Cal). They played the PG position beautifully (just short of my idol, Magic Johnson, IMHO). As much as I am and was a Laker fan, I always appreciated great PG play and both KJ and J Kidd were among the best point guards of their eras.
Reply Quote
1
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 6:34p, 9/24/26
The first time I saw Kidd play at Harmon he chased a loose ball out of bounds at the sideline and while diving into the crowd caught the ball and passed it to a teammate for a layup. At that moment I understood the hype.
Reply Quote
4
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 7:01p, 9/24/26
stu said:
The first time I saw Kidd play at Harmon he chased a loose ball out of bounds at the sideline and while diving into the crowd caught the ball and passed it to a teammate for a layup. At that moment I understood the hype.

The way he could "see" his teammates and "see" the floor without looking was beautiful. It's what Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had. The ability to then make the extra pass because of that is what set them (including J Kidd) apart from all the other "really good" or even "great" players, IMHO.

(I live for the pass/assist. Good shooters can score, but great passers make the game easier for their teammates.)
Reply Quote
2
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 8:10p, 9/24/26
Right next to the great assist is the great defensive play, which Kidd was also a master of.
Reply Quote
4
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 9:05p, 9/24/26
stu said:
Right next to the great assist is the great defensive play, which Kidd was also a master of.

That's what made him such a great PG to watch and emulate for young kids. He was a genius on both ends of the floor.
Reply Quote
1
1 edit
75bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 10:05p, 9/24/26
stu said:
The first time I saw Kidd play at Harmon he chased a loose ball out of bounds at the sideline and while diving into the crowd caught the ball and passed it to a teammate for a layup. At that moment I understood the hype.
My freshman year was Kidd's sophomore year. My version of your story is watching Jason grab a rebound, then tossing a perfect 90 foot one bounce pass the length of the court with incredible spin that hit his teammate in perfect stride for a layup at the other end. I couldn't believe my eyes, if I weren't there in Harmon to witness it in person I never would believe it were possible.
Reply Quote
5
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 01Bear • 6:49p, 9/25/26
"I used to love reading SFBear's posts for that reason. (BTW, does anyone know how he's doing? I haven't seen anything from him in a long time.)"


He is still full of p@iss and vinegar and occasionally busts some balls on the OT Board with the rest of us schizoids over there.



SFCB's most recent post:

https://bearinsider.com/forums/6/topics/136182/replies/2744139
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
4
2 edits
01Bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 9:14p, 9/25/26
bearister said:
"I used to love reading SFBear's posts for that reason. (BTW, does anyone know how he's doing? I haven't seen anything from him in a long time.)"


He is still full of p@iss and vinegar and occasionally busts some balls on the OT Board with the rest of us schizoids over there.



SFCB's most recent post:

https://bearinsider.com/forums/6/topics/136182/replies/2744139

Thanks for the update!
Reply Quote
MilleniaBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to stu • 9:46p, 9/27/26
The first time I saw Kidd play at Harmon for Cal he had a "senior moment" and caught an inbound pass and started walking up the court with it. No dribble. Just walking. And holding a basketball. Bizarre. Got whistled immediately and the ball was given to the other team. I guess he as nervous.
Reply Quote
2
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to HearstMining • 7:30a, 10/14/26
"….I also recall signing up for PE classes in Harmon.."

I took hoop in PE freshman year. Basically an hour of pickup with a few pretty good players. I took and elbow to the head at eyebrow level and bled like a tomato can. They drove me to Cowell for a stitch up.

I played intramural hoop at Harmon my last 3 years. My sophomore year I broke my foot landing on a guy's foot coming down with a board. Back to Cowell.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
2
1 edit
HoopDreams
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 9:59a, 10/14/26
This is why I never go strong after rebounds in a pickup game anymore!



bearister said:
"….I also recall signing up for PE classes in Harmon.."

I took hoop in PE freshman year. Basically an hour of pickup with a few pretty good players. I took and elbow to the head at eyebrow level and bled like a tomato can. They drove me to Cowell for a stitch up.

I played intramural hoop at Harmon my last 3 years. My sophomore year I broke my foot landing on a guy's foot coming down with a board. Back to Cowell.
Reply Quote
1
MilleniaBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to bearister • 10:00a, 10/14/26
And did they do the STD tests first thing? That was so funny. You come in for a sprained ankle or head injury and they start with STD tests. I swear they didn't even ask. And when I was out of it with appendicitis they may have done the same. I just remember laying on the gurney for 3 hours in pain while they waited for their lab to open. Then they called me a cab to send me to Alta Bates for an appendectomy.
Reply Quote
stu
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
1:04p, 10/14/26
I broke my tibia in a volleyball game when some jerk stepped far under the net and I came down on his foot. Now I can't jump high enough for anyone to slip their foot under mine.
Reply Quote
3
bearister
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to MilleniaBear • 1:13p, 10/14/26
MilleniaBear said:
And did they do the STD tests first thing? That was so funny. You come in for a sprained ankle or head injury and they start with STD tests. I swear they didn't even ask. And when I was out of it with appendicitis they may have done the same. I just remember laying on the gurney for 3 hours in pain while they waited for their lab to open. Then they called me a cab to send me to Alta Bates for an appendectomy.

I don't remember taking such a test. What I do remember is the doc at Cowell opining that I had a sprained ankle. A week or so later I got a postcard in the mail advising that I in fact had a broken foot. I went to my own doc for confirmation. He never casted it and after a few weeks I was no worse for the wear…… but getting down to and back from campus from Channing & Warring on crutches was a b@itch.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison

“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Reply Quote
2
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.