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Kentucky officially announced the signing of former BYU commit Collin Chandler Monday as coach Mark Pope’s first signee.
The 6-4 Chandler was a top 35 player in the 2022 class who spent the last two years on a mission trip for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so he will be a true freshman at Kentucky.
Pope obviously knows Chandler well and made him a priority as soon as he got the job at Kentucky.
“Collin Chandler is one of the most talented high school players in the country,” Pope said in a release from UK. “He has a silky-smooth jumper, a slippery ability to get to the rim, an explosive burst and the most impressive of all, he has incredible processing speed as he reads space and time and makes plays on pure instinct.
“Collin is the definition of a servant leader. He, on his own desire and expense, chose to leave basketball and his life to go and serve people in Africa and Europe for two years.
“It won’t take long for every Kentucky fan to feel his heart and his love for others. I absolutely cannot wait to coach a man and player like him.”
Chandler said in the UK release that his dream was to play against the best players in the world and he will get to do that at Kentucky. He scored 1,587 points and hit 135 3-pointers in his prep career and also had 328 rebounds, 229 assists and 105 steals.
“I am beyond grateful to be given the opportunity to do just that. Through the past couple of days, the path I had before envisioned has been blurred. After talking with my family and many prayers, this vision has become clearer than ever. I am humbled to get the opportunity to continue this journey at the University of Kentucky,” he said in his commitment announcement.
Chandler averaged 21.7 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game and made 47 3-pointers. He had 15 games with 20 or more points, including a season-high 37. He was named the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022.
Chandler ranked as the No. 33 overall player in the class by 247Sports, the No. 6 combo guard and the No. 1 player in the state of Utah. He was rated No. 32 by ESPN and No. 43 by Rivals.
ESPN basketball recruiting director/draft analyst Paul Biancardi liked what he saw from Chandler in high school.
“Chandler demonstrates an all-around game and he’s a legitimate three-level scorer,” Biancardi said when he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year. “He can make shots from both inside and outside the arc, his aggressive drive game creates a lot of fouls and he’s capable of finishing with both vertical bounce and body control.”
Off the court, Chandler helped provide meals for needy families and has volunteered locally on behalf of a basketball program for special needs children during his high school career.
He also had a 3.74 grade-point average.
4 Responses
If I remember correctly, Reed was rated about the 30th player.
The only question about Chandler is how long it will take for him to get his game back in the groove.
Any player who WANTS to play for UK has leaped way ahead of all those who only wanted to spend a year being showcased for the NBA.
I’ll take a player with heart & integrity, even if rusty, over those not playing FOR the Kentucky WildCats.
The rust is a legitimate concern, but it’s like riding a bike – a little practice & you’ve mastered it again.
I think Chandler is going to be a stud. Mark my words and remember what I say he’s going to be great. He puts all of his heart and soul into the game. He’s A relentless worker and people say he was out of basketball for 2 years but really that just matured him more. A 21 year old freshman is great. Plus he seems to me like someone who might be one of the best scorers on the team for the next 2-3 years. He’s the type of players we need. Perry and Chandler are going to be a great backcourt for the next 2-3 years if we can keep them and I think we will. If we can find a couple sophomore front Court recruits to put with the 2 Englishmen and a couple defensive and Athletic specialists at the small forward position, we’re talking about banners.