Collin Chandler tweaked his shooting form — and also tweaked his lifestyle when he got married. He has been one of Kentucky’s best players this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Collin Chandler’s journey at Kentucky has not always been easy, but he’s always found a way to persevere.
He went on a two-year mission trip after planning to play for coach Mark Pope at BYU and then followed the coach to Kentucky last season. He needed time to adjust to playing basketball, but slowly regained his skills to become a part of the playing rotation before the season ended.
The learning lessons have continued this season.
“Basketball is a huge mental game and can be hard. Against Nicholls, I didn’t get off to the greatest start, and then I sat on the bench for a long time. It felt like forever,” said Chandler. “It was a good time for me to think about what I wanted to do when I got back in. I think that was good for me. It’s a good experience to have when things aren’t going well and just think about making the simple play because at times I overcomplicate things.”
Chandler said his ball handling came back the slowest of any skill after his two-year basketball hiatus and continues to improve daily.
“I don’t know if I can compare my handle to what it was before, but there’s definitely still room for improvement. That’s one thing I’ve had to work really hard at getting back and getting better,” Chandler said. “It can limit getting to your spots, so I had to improve my handle and that has helped both me and my teammates.”
The strongest part of his game is easy — shooting. He was 4-for-6 from 3-point range in UK’s loss at Louisville and has made 25 of his last 45 3-pointers going back to last season.
“I am shooting the ball well right now, which has been big for me and my teammates because it has opened the floor for the offense,” Chandler, who has played both point guard and two guard this season, said. “The big thing with shooting is to feel comfortable. There’s a lot going through your mind and your body with adrenaline. You can shoot as much as you want in practice but it is different when it comes to games, so comfort level is a big thing. The more I play, the more comfortable I am feeling.”
Chandler made “little tweaks” to his shooting form after his mission trip. He led Kentucky in 3-pointers made (18) and 3-point percentage (51.4) after UK’s win over Loyola (Md.. He’s also fourth in scoring (11.3 points per game).
“I had a bit of a fade on my shot in high school where I was leaning back a lot. I worked with coach (Mark) Fox a lot last year to jump and lean forward on my shot,” Chandler said. “Now it just feels normal and I don’t even think about it that much. I don’t have to get a lot of shots. As soon as I see one go in, that is usually enough to get me going.”
He also made a personal tweak over the summer — he got married. He said he thought that would make his basketball life even better because of the stability his wife would bring.
“Like I said before, I don’t think anything’s changed. Things have been great, and especially now with the season here and the pressures and the outside noise that that brings in,” the UK sophomore said. “Having someone to help me deal with that, that’s been the greatest help not having to deal with it alone.”
Chandler admits he’s at his worst when he’s left alone, whether he’s had a good or bad day.
“Talking about it and having something to help you when you need to get away from basketball is such a great help,” Chandler said. “She’s more comforting and will tell me it is gonna be okay. I’m fairly hard on myself, so I don’t need her to beat down on me because I do that already. She’s great for providing comfort when I need it. I don’t know that I have helped her that much. In fact, I’m sure I have brought a lot more stress into her life than she probably ever wanted.”
One problem Chandler does not have is what fans and media might be saying about him.
“To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been keeping up with the media and what they’re saying about me, so I’m not totally sure what people are even talking about,” Chandler said before UK’s loss to Louisville. “I found out pretty quickly that I didn’t want to hear a lot of the noise. I don’t need to hear it because we talk about things every day in practice with our coaches and we are very detailed about what we are wanting to accomplish. I think that’s all I need in my head is what we’re trying to do as a team.”
5 Responses
Chandler needs to shoot more 3s, so does Noah, but the heroes won't pass to them.
Thanks. That’s been a major complaint I’ve had. It would be a game changer!
Hopefully this is a good beginning for Chandler. This team really is currently without a dominant player or leader, and it would be nice to have a couple or person step up in next few games. JQ has that potential, but it depends when or if he gets to play.
Chandler sat in the bench and contemplated/ studied what he could do when he gets in again to help the team & improve his own play.
Just a guess, but probably not many think about what to do so they can help the team instead of just wanting back in the game to play selfish.
A real team player. Add Noah & Moreno to that short list. I also like Garrison who was the rare player dishing assists to Perry last season & Perry had assists to Perry. I think Garrison is a team player but needs the right players on the court with him. Dioubate looked like a team player in the very early game but I think the negative impact of some other players has dragged him down and cut his enthusiasm.
Some players can lead and some definitely need a leader on the floor to get the most out of them.
The player efficiency (ANE by the Professor) and A:TO from game to game should be the vital stats to determine who gets the most game minutes & who has their name etched into their place on the bench.
It’s ALMOST too late to turn this season around so it’s essential to play the TEAM 1st guys 30 minutes to build real team Chemistry
JQ needs to play tomorrow night, even if it is only limited minutes; that will hopefully will be a wakeup call to Garrison to step up his game if he doesn't want to become the forgotten man as Moreno is currently outplaying him. Having a knockdown 3 point shooter like Chandler and a dominant man in the post will help Oweh's game as they won't be able to key on him then. We need someone to step up and be the starting point guard too. A guy who will pass first and defend; being a scorer would come third on that wish list. Jelavic needs to play more. He seems to be having trouble fitting in with this bunch and Pope, but he was playing pro ball for 2 years. He can shoot, rebound and defend. We need a defined starter at the 4 spot. Someone also needs to step up at the 3 spot. The possibles are Noah, Dioubate, and Williams. If Chandler and Noah are in the game at the same time, we will have to play more zone. Noah is the best shooter, Dioubate is the best defender, and Williams is the best rebounder. We need to have a clearer identity of who we are after tonight's game; they all matter after tonight.
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