Gardner is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, playing his high school ball at North Central. He was honored at Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1999. The 5 ft 10 in point guard then starred at the University of Arizona from 1999 to 2003. His team finished second place in the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, losing to Duke University. As a senior in 2003, Gardner was named an Associated Press Second Team All-American after averaging 14.8 points and 4.9 assists per game. His college jersey number was retired by the University of Arizona in 2005.

Gardner was not drafted by the NBA, but found success overseas. He played in Slovenia, Belgium, and Israel, and with EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Germany. He was a 2x All-Star in Germany, appearing in the Basketball Bundesliga's All-Star Game in 2007, and starting for the Northern All-Star Team in the Basketball Bundesliga's All-Star Game in 2009. He was also named 2008/2009 regular season MVP of the German Basketball Bundesliga. For the season he averaged 13.7 points 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds on shooting 40.8% from the field 37.5% from three point range and 82.9% from the line. He recorded a season high of 25 points against the Telekom Baskets Bonn. Gardner led his team to a 25–9 record finishing third in the regular season.

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