Collin Chandler (Vicky Graff Photo)
Antoine Walker was one of Kentucky’s best players on the 1996 national championship team, was the sixth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and played in the NBA from 1996-2008.
Jeff Sheppard was a redshirt on UK’s 1996 national championship team but a starter on the 1997 team that lost in the national title game and Final Four MVP in 1998 when Kentucky won the national title again. He played briefly in the National Basketball Association with the Atlanta Hawks during the 1998-99 season and then played professionally in Italy from 1999-2001.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope, who was on the 1996 national title team, recently compared current UK senior Otega Oweh to Walker and UK sophomore Collin Chandler to Sheppard.
Cameron Mills played with Pope, Walker and Sheppard on the national championship teams. He said he could understand the Chandler to Sheppard comparison.
“He was making that on who Collin is as a sophomore and Jeff was as a sophomore and not Jeff as the Final Four MVP,” Mills said. “Collin is not at that Final Four MVP level. But he can shoot outside, he has got big-time leaps and he’s got the defense all like Shep had.
“We all look at the 3-pointer Collin hit against Tennessee, but he’s also had big steals. Shep did not get as much credit for his defense as his leaping ability, but he was a great defender and I think Collin could get there, too.”
Oweh, Kentucky’s leading scorer again this season at 17 points per game, does have similarities to what Walker did for coach Rick Pitino in his one season at Kentucky.
“Antoine was taller and was an NBA all-star. We do not know what the future holds for Oweh.”
3 Responses
What the heck kind of comparison is this?? Sheppard and especially Walker were night and day better. He is right on the Chandler comparison but I think Chandler is better as a true sophomore than Sheppard was as a redshirt sophomore. Now if Chandler is better than Sheppard he will average about 15 PPG next year. I can see him having that big of a jump from this year to next year. We won't have Aberdeen or Oweh next year. Chandler will jump from 10 PPG this year to about 15-16 PPG next year. I believe he will be first team or second team all conference next year. Then his senior year he will be preseason second team all American. I think he averages about 18-19 PPG as a senior. But he improves every part of his game and becomes pretty much unstoppable. If he stays the next two years he will go down as one of the all time greats at Kentucky because we have had anyone stay all 4 years and actually play all 4 years in a long time. He might be the first player to do that in over 20 years that's how rare it is nowadays.
Can't imagine where we would be if Pope hadn't choked on Ament…as well as many others since.
Chandler wasn't better tonight! He single handedly lost this game in the second half.
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