Lincoln Memorial University men’s basketball head coach Josh Schertz has named Rob Gardiner as the Railsplitters’ newest assistant, announced by the LMU athletics department Wednesday afternoon.
 
Coach Gardiner, who most recently served as associate head coach at fellow NCAA Division II member Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, arrives in Harrogate with 10 years of collegiate coaching experience. He joins the LMU men’s basketball staff after six-year assistant Omar Wattad was selected to lead Lander University’s program.
 
“I am very excited to add Rob to our staff,” commented coach Schertz. “While his reputation as an elite recruiter with gold-standard communication skills precedes him, what stands out to me most is his versatility as a coach on and off of the floor. I have been fortunate to spend my career here at LMU surrounded by assistants who are extremely smart, exceptionally hard working and completely selfless and humble in their approach. Rob checks all of those boxes and more, I am eager to work alongside of him as well as the rest of this terrific staff.”
 
For the past eight years, Gardiner helped mold a successful Ashland program and was named associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 season after joining the Eagles as a graduate assistant in 2012. Following two years in the graduate assistant role, Gardiner was hired as the program’s lead assistant before the 2014-15 season. After his move to a full-time coach, Ashland won no fewer than 19 games for five-straight seasons and posted a winning record all six years with three 20-win campaigns and two NCAA Midwest Regional Championship appearances.
 
Heavily involved in recruiting, on-floor coaching, practice preparation and scouting, Gardiner helped lead the Eagles to top-10 rankings in 2015-16 and 2018-19 with impressive 25-6 and 23-7 records, respectively. Charged with coordinating a staunch Ashland defense, Gardiner oversaw an Eagles squad that ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense five of the last six seasons. Ashland ranked 24th in that category in 2019-20 (67.6 PPG) and fourth in 2018-19 (63.0 PPG).
 
During his time at Ashland, the Eagles compiled 147 wins and posted 99 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victories. Gardiner also developed several All-GLIAC guards, including two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team performer Wendell Davis, who was a three-time All-GLIAC First Team pick. Under Gardiner’s tutelage, freshman guard Brandon Haraway was named the league’s freshman of the year following the 2019-20 season, while Rodirick Caldwell (2020), Aaron Thompson (2019-20), Ben Haraway (2018-19), Adrian Cook (2017) and Boo Osborne (2016-17) garnered All-GLIAC honors.
 
Prior to Ashland, Gardiner was a graduate assistant at Division I Wright State out of the Horizon League from 2010-12. While in Dayton, Ohio, Gardiner was highly active in every aspect of the Raider program. He was heavily involved in scouting and created and organized the playbook, not to mention assisting with travel. Responsible for overseeing Wright State’s film/video usage and equipment, Gardiner closely monitored the academic progress of players and was one of the main contacts with campus coaches and advisors. Gardiner was also the assistant director of the Billy Donlon Basketball Camp.
 
Working as a summer coach at Dublin Coffman High School from 2006-09, Gardiner led the varsity team through summer leagues and team camps where he conducted daily individual and team workouts. Gardiner has worked as the co-camp director for the Dublin Coffman Summer Camp (2003-09), has been the co-camp director at the Chris Quinn Skill Development Camp (2007-09) and in 2008, he was a coach of the Columbus Basketball Club AAU program.
 
A four-year letter winner and two-year team captain at Ohio Wesleyan, Gardiner led the Battling Bishops to the 2008 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship sectional semifinals (round of 16).
 
A 2010 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan, Gardiner received his bachelor’s degree in history and education before obtaining a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree from Wright State in 2012. He attended Dublin Coffman High School where he was a three-year starter, two-time first-team all-conference selection and a two-time team MVP.

https://lmurailsplitters.com/news/2020/4/15/rob-gardiner-named-mens-basketball-assistant-coach.aspx