James H. Gardner (March 29, 1910 – April 9, 2000) was an American college basketball coach, known for his tenures as the head coach at Kansas State University and the University of Utah. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Born in Texico, New Mexico, Gardner was raised in southern California, and was a four-sport athlete in high school at Redlands. A graduate of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, he was the captain of the Trojan basketball team and led the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) in scoring. His career college record was .
In his second stint at Kansas State, following World War II, Gardner's teams won three conference crowns and captured two Big Eight Holiday Tournament championships. His 1950–51 team finished 25–4 and lost in the finals of the NCAA tournament to the University of Kentucky. That team was arguably the best in K-State history, and one of two that reached the Final Four during his tenure (the other was in 1948). He had six All-Americans at Kansas State, including Ernie Barrett.
Gardner left Manhattan, Kansas, in 1953 to take over the head coaching reins at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he remained for 18 years.
Gardner died at age 90 in<!--on April 9,--> 2000 in Salt Lake City.