MALIBU, California — Take a look at former Pepperdine point guard Jelani Gardner's passport, and it'd be a fair assumption to say the two-time All-WCC player has lived multiple lifetimes on the international basketball circuit.

From Israel to the Dominican Republic, to stateside forays in the D-League, to a stable career carved out in France, Gardner's career has been lucrative, lengthy and essential to the man he is today. Or, as one head coach put succinctly, Jelani's life story could be "made into a movie."

Although the current, studious chapter of the Pepperdine point guard's journey doesn't seem as ready for the big screen as the others, it's still essential. After taking his last shots as Pepperdine's point guard, chief perimeter defender and clutch-shot taker in 1999, Gardner has returned to his alma mater to finish out his degree this semester. As Gardner sees it, his decision to return now is based on three reasons: finishing what he started, possibly opening the door for bigger coaching opportunities and setting an example for his children.

"First, finishing what I started," Gardner said. "Secondly, being college educated is important my for my future, maybe college coaching. Third, to be an example to my kids. I want them to value education and having a degree is a big achievement for anyone. I lived a life of travel and basketball and received a worldly education. A degree from Pepperdine University means a lot to my family and I.

"I want to thank Pepperdine, the staff, Dr. Steve Potts, Andrea Harris, Coach Romar, and everyone at Pepperdine for allowing it to be a relationship that's more than basketball. Caring about me as a person means a lot because when basketball is over, you don't have a lot. When you don't make it to the NBA, it's a different world for guys.

"The fact that they were there for me throughout my adult process and helped me go back to school at 44 shows that was the right decision for me because it was a life decision — not just a basketball decision. I have a lot of love for Pepperdine."

Gardner had tried returning to Pepperdine to finish his degree in the past, according to Lorenzo Romar, who coached Gardner during his first stint with the Waves.

"The logistics of getting it done were difficult," Romar said. "Our athletic department and our athletic director had been in communication with Jelani. We were able to work it out, and they were able to work it out for him to be able to come back here and [finish] it."

Gardner's journey back to Pepperdine could fill not only several passports, but also several lifetimes. His story starts from a mid-major guard with legitimate NBA prospects, to a kidney transplant that saved his life, to a resurrection on the international circuit as an effective, scoring guard — all with scoring titles, a marriage and being the father of a family of five children along the way. Now at age 44, the deft passer has one more focus: passing his final two courses, French and nutrition, while also juggling his coaching obligations at JAG Basketball, an AAU program he founded.

"I've been blessed; I have a lot of good things," Gardner said. "I have a beautiful family and healthy kids. But I've also had to suffer. I've had to understand what it's like to suffer and appreciate the little things. When you suffer, you appreciate being healthy and feeling normal. It puts everything in perspective."

In the late '90s, Gardner was an integral part of Pepperdine's rebuild under Romar. During his second season at the helm of the Waves, Romar recruited Gardner — a McDonald's All-American and a top-five recruit coming out of high school — as he transferred out of Cal, along with several other high-major transfers. Although Gardner could have gone back east to play for ACC and Big East schools, he chose Pepperdine, sight unseen.

"I didn't even visit any other schools," Gardner said. "I could've probably gone to Syracuse or other bigger schools. But it wasn't about basketball for me; it was about coming home and playing basketball for someone that I trusted. Playing for Coach Romar was a three-year process. It was a basketball maturation. I really learned how to play basketball the right way, but it wasn't just Coach Romar. It was Coach [Darwin] Cook and Coach [Randy] Bennett, it was the whole staff there. They were all spiritual men. They transformed my basketball game and me as a person." 

That decision paid off immediately.

Gardner made an instant impact in his first season in Malibu. After sitting out a year due to the NCAA's transfer rule, he quickly became the Waves' go-to guy. In his first season in Malibu, Gardner averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game as a junior en route to winning his first of two All-WCC first team honors. The 6-foot-6 point guard immediately became a mismatch due to his size, seemingly effortless passing ability over smaller defenders and his quick release. 

"His skill-set and agility at his size stood out," Romar said. "The way he was able to handle and pass the basketball at his size stood out to me. He did it with a flair. He could score; he was just really talented."

"You've got to see him play," Romar added. "There was a certain way he went out and played that was fun to watch."

During Gardner's senior year, he led the team in scoring, assists, made three-pointers and steals, amongst a myriad of statistical categories. Gardner had clear appeal for NBA scouts as a big point guard who can create his own shot. So once Pepperdine's season ended in the first round of the NIT, Gardner started prepping for a potential NBA future with a strong showing in the Cactus Showcase in Phoenix, and several meetings with the Pacers, Bulls and others. Given his talent as a recruit coming out of high school, an NBA future was all but inevitable.

Until it wasn't.

Gardner couldn't pass the NBA physical because of the blood test, which showed an abnormally high amount of potassium in his bloodstream. No matter how many times he took the NBA physical, he couldn't pass the test. So he played in Israel immediately after college, which soon yielded opportunities to play stateside in the Continental Basketball Association as he worked for his chance at playing in the NBA.

Then after playing stateside, in the Dominican Republic and Germany in 2002, Gardner's mother urged him to take another blood test. He obliged, then the doctor in charge of his procedure put him on dialysis right away.

"I could've died because my kidney function was so low," Gardner said. "My potassium was so high that I could've had a heart attack if I worked out that day."

While he was on dialysis, Gardner was offered a contract worth "six figures times two" to play in Paris, France. Even though he lost that opportunity, several opportunities to play overseas opened up to him in the wake of the surgery. Two years after his kidney transplant, Gardner bounced back by leading Brest by averaging 22.2 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.

All told, Gardner was a high-usage player for every team he played for, ranging from France's highest basketball leagues to the London Lions of the United Kingdom's British Basketball League. Yet throughout all of the tribulations, Gardner attributes his successes to God and his will.

"[God] had made me afflicted with this kidney disease to be humble," Gardner said. "He's transformed me all the way from what I was before — a high-level, future potential NBA lottery pick, to a God-fearing man who depends on God every day. It's a healthy fear. I had to go through a big transformation when the NBA was taken from me at age 19, when I was afflicted. And then God transformed me and made me realize it wasn't about me; it was about helping others. Right as I got afflicted, he took the NBA away from me, which was hard and it's still hard. But he was good enough to play overseas and get my aspirations fulfilled."

After retiring from his playing career at age 37, Gardner started his high school coaching career at his alma mater, St. John Bosco High School, before taking several stops at La Salle, Bristol, Duarte, Blair and South Hills. Now, he runs JAG Basketball, an AAU team, while splitting his time as an assistant coach at Los Altos High School, when he's not putting the finishing touches on his college degree.

Throughout the trials and tribulations, Gardner's collegiate coach never doubted his point guard for a second.

"He's always been a good student," Romar said. "You get going, you go overseas, you have a family, and sometimes that gets put on the back-burner. But in his mind, I felt like he always thought he was going to go back and get his degree. And he did it. It shows resiliency and perseverance.

"There are other former student-athletes that are getting organized to come back and finish their schooling. I know that's something we want to do. I know it's our athletic department's goal to have every kid that participates here at this university to get their degree. We're trying to do everything we can to make sure that happens."