When Coach Mark Pope was announced as the new Head Coach at Kentucky on April 12th, four days later he received his first commit from former 2022 BYU signee Collin Chandler. Chandler was the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year and was ranked #33 in the 2022 class according to 247sports. Back in 2020 he chose BYU over Arizona, Creighton, Utah State, Utah, Stanford, and Oregon. And yes, you heard it correctly, that was 2 years ago that he signed to play. The two-year basketball hiatus is due to Chandler going on mission in Sierra Leone as an Elder in the Moorman church. This is a regulatory action that the BYU program sees often, as well as their former coach, Mark Pope.
Chandler’s unique journey is one that may turn out to be very beneficial. He has spoken in different interviews about his desire to play against the best. This was demonstrated while he played on the 3SSB circuit. In his last appearance on the circuit, the talent included such prospects as Keyonte George, MJ Rice, Reed Sheppard, and Julian Phillips to name a few. Chandler spoke of seeing guys like Frank Jackson and Sam Merrill who are from Utah give him the hope of living out his dream. The path they set is through playing against some of the best to become one of the best.
Overall, the game for Chandler has been a steady growth and much like his height he has seen big changes. He spoke in a 2022 article with Pro Insight about how he was 5’7 in 8th grade. Ultimately would reach 6 feet in 9th grade and from there he has grown each year, where he then stood at 6’5 before leaving for mission. And that is how the visibility of his game has gone as well, nationally. While on the circuit Chandler made a case as a trending prospect, to the point that some considered him amongst the snubs of the 2022 McDonald’s All Americans. He is known for his competitive, instinctive, and scoring abilities. Chandler is also able to create for others, which is an underrated part of his game.
On May 2nd Collin Chandler returned to the States from his mission, to begin a new one. He left Farmington High School in 2022, on the road to BYU, but now in 2024, he will suit up as a 21-year-old freshman for the University of Kentucky. A change which he embraces and a mission he has accepted.
Some have worried about how he would transition but looking back on the history of players returning from missions that played at BYU, there should be less skepticism than you would think. Coach Pope spoke briefly about how this regulatory occurrence leads to a systematic process in which returning players from missions are put through a meticulous course of basketball training to get them back into high level basketball shape and play. Seeing how Collin Chandler is the highest rated recruit to ever do this, and how his predecessors at BYU did just fine. I would recommend that Kentucky fans get used to the thought of Collin Chandler stepping on the floor sooner than later in his new Wildcat mission.
(Graphic by Josh Ragan- @dopesteditz1 on X)
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