Collin Chandler (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky guard Collin Chandler provided a glimpse of his future potential on Wednesday night.
Chandler came off the bench and scored seven points, a career-high, dished out two assists and added a pair of steals in 15 minutes in the Wildcats’ 82-61 win over the Commodores.
Making a significant contribution has been a goal for Chandler this season, whose outing came at the right time for the shorthanded Wildcats, who are missing two starters from the lineup.
“I love the game of basketball and I think about it pretty much all day,” Chandler said. “With that, you crave results. You crave the feeling of winning as a team and celebrating with your guys. That’s been something that I’ve been hoping for. It was awesome and fun to be out there, compete and feed off each other’s energy.”
Chandler’s contributions weren’t surprising to his teammates, including veteran Andrew Carr, who praised Chandler’s ability to step into the point guard role at times against the Commodores.
“He wants to be able to step up and step into that role,” Carr said. “We knew it was going to happen for him … to see those results on the floor is special. It’s been a long time coming for him. We’ve seen that and we’ve known it. I’m super proud of him and that he is making that change to learn point guard to help this team.”
Pope believes Chandler can be a “difference-maker” in postseason play.
Chandler appreciated the voice of support from his coach and plans to seize the opportunity.
“It’s great having a coach that believes in me that way,” he said. “He knows what I can do. We’ve played a lot of basketball up until this point that BBN and the world doesn’t see.
“I think it’s nice to have trust from your coach because I think that feeds into the trust in myself, and comes from knowing that my coach trusts me.”
2 Responses
Let’s Goooooooooooooo! This is what #BBN has been looking forward to all year. Coach Pope talked early on about his ceiling and that one day we would all see it. To have Chandler unwrap his potential at this point of the season would be amazing!
Chandler has some game but it is coming to him in bits and pieces. Getting more PT will be good for him and the team next season. He may be able to help us win a game or two this season, just keep playing him.