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It was hard for Kentucky coach Mark Pope not to be proud of freshman guard Collin Chandler after Kentucky’s 82-61 win over Vanderbilt Tuesday night.
Chandler had seven points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists in 15 minutes.
“I thought Collin gave us a massive boost tonight energy wise. He is a two-two-two guy. Two assists, two turnovers, two steals. Right?” Pope said. “Just the energy and intensity. Collin has a really special burst.”
Pope followed with a comparison I had not heard before when he compared Chandler to a bamboo tree.
“You guys know the deal about these bamboo trees. So if you think about a bamboo forest. I think the Guinness Book of World Records is 36 inches in a day. I think 35 inches in a day. What happens is they grow over time and they grow these massive networks of roots and they grow and grow and grow and you don’t see it. Right?” Pope said.
“And all of a sudden, they shoot up out of the ground and they are growing almost a yard a day which is almost incomprehensible. That’s a little bit of Collin Chandler. He’s been growing big time roots.
“The plays he’s made today, he’s been making in practice. He is going to help us in a huge way as we move down the stretch. I was really proud of him tonight.”
Chandler was committed to BYU before taking a two-year mission trip. When he returned from the mission work, he opted to follow Pope to UK instead of staying at BYU. The 6-5 guard has seen only limited playing time but he made the most of his chance to play extended minutes at point guard and his energy was a needed boost with Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler out with injuries.
“He’s a really really special young man. My goodness, you know, he’s as good as they come as a human being,” Pope said. “The conversation we kept having was we know exactly where he’s going to end up.
“He’s an incredibly special talent. Like he’s a really special talent. We know where he’s going to end up. It’s just a matter of like, we don’t know how the zigzag path is going to get you there. Right? And he’s been working so hard to come and fresh every day.”
Pope said it has been “really fun” to watch Chandler along with fellow freshmen Travis Perry and Trent Noah expand their games.
“They’ve all had the whole world thrust upon them and they’d all responded, right, at different places of the season,” the Kentucky coach said. “I think it bodes well for where we’re going.
“Collin Chandler has a skill set that’s unique to our team. We get all of our guys back or not; he still has a space on this team this year. The more comfortable he gets on the floor where he can do some things on the court that are unique for us that are going to be really impactful.
“He can be a guy that you watch down the stretch once we get to tournament play that is a difference maker.”
2 Responses
In the old days, it always seemed like there was a UK player who unexpectedly stepped it up at tournament time.
He has had one decent game. Let’s let him continue to progress as he will. I would not be surprised to see him get major minutes tomorrow night guarding Sears. Carr will get assigned Nelson. They don’t have to stop those two, just keep them under 15 points each.