At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned senior prospects. Last season, over one hundred players from North Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today’s edition will highlight Omar Gardner of Carolina Basketball Academy.
At this point, everyone in North Carolina should be familiar with Gardner, a big, strong, physical guard prospect that transferred from New York within the last two years. He’s smart, savvy, and creates effectively from anywhere on the floor, which allows him to score or set up others in a variety of different ways. Gardner is extremely difficult to contain when attacking the basket, given his frame and sheer explosiveness. He’s in an elite class of athletes, both vertically and laterally, but also possesses a ton of skill. Gardner can play with or without the ball and find success, given his motor, cutting instincts, and pure nose for the ball.
We’ve seen Gardner multiple times, including when our Frank Bennett saw him upon enrolling in North Carolina, stating: “Omar is an exceptional playmaker, gifted athletically, sound fundamentally and possessing great instincts. He has an explosive first step complimented by his skillful use of hesitation moves and crafty breakdown moves that allows him to beat defenders and create havoc en route to the rim. Omar has a quick crossover dribble, stays low and surveys the defense ready to strike at any time off the dribble with the jumper or bursting into the paint where he can find the open man and make the pass, hit the pull up jumper or continue to the rim employing his explosive elevation and 38” vertical to dunk! He has an excellent stutter step variety where he can bounce out and hit the jumper or counter with a change of direction crossover and attack a gap. He hits the jumper from all levels and is especially efficient scoring on the move and hitting the jumper off the dribble. Omar is an excellent finisher able to work past a big defender in front of the basket with his ability to find the angle that offers the uncontested shot and seemingly hang in the air if needed to get his shot off, hit the floater or use his great bounce and dunk the ball. Omar is an excellent passer, looking defenders off and dishing to cutters or using penetrate and kick skills to keep teammates involved. Makes the lob passes with perfect timing and accuracy. Omar seems to be a play ahead of everyone else, a high IQ playmaker with great vision and presence. He is unfazed by ball pressure, controls tempo and really has command of the game. He’s a blur in transition getting end to end with eye-popping speed, then seems to shift to another gear if needed to beat a defender and get to the rim! Really excels in the open floor, knows where his teammates are and can make the pass ahead to get his team easy baskets. As much as Omar offers on the offensive end his defensive presence is as influential.”
Gardner hasn’t necessarily blown-up yet, but Division I schools are definitely in pursuit of the hyper-athletic guard. He’s a game-changing player on both ends of the floor, given his ability to defend multiple positions, dictate the offensive action, and everything in-between. Gardner is probably somewhat underrated in the bigger scheme of things, considering the fairly sizable gap between his translatable talent and current recruitment. However, a smart program will see the value in Gardner and will secure a productive all-around player in the process.