Chandler rumors

UKJenning

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2022
744
2,023
57
Why does everybody say this?
Is it just the cool thing to jump on or what?
It simply ain’t true?
I know he got burnt sometimes this season, but everybody gets burnt every now and then. If you’ll remember, or choose to, he guarded Ament in the second half the first time we played UT and pretty much shut him down. Pope made that change at halftime. A big reason we were able to be within striking distance at the end.
People pile on to bad information and run with it.
Coaching issue.

The entire team couldn’t guard a fire hydrant.

Last season nor this season.
 

rivercatinfl

All-Conference
Nov 21, 2012
1,955
1,852
97
I'm gonna wait and see what Pope gets from the portal and then crap my pants.
I'm willing to at least see what he comes up with before I throw cold water on the season.
Maybe he will surprise us. If not, Pope knows the ramifications. He won't be our coach after next year.
After watching AZ and Purdue and their talent, the picture cleared up for me. We weren't even close to an elite team as if I needed more info based on the seasons results. There is a huge disparity between our talent and the true elite teams.

Pope has a lot to do to make next year's team elite but stranger things have happened. He may well get top players.
After Lowe went to the portal, I was encouraged. Pope knows he is on thin ice.
 

JASUN74

All-Conference
May 22, 2008
3,114
4,436
73
Chandler absolutely has a ton of talent and now has to money to hire whoever he needs to train at the highest level this offseason. He has the vertical, the shooting, and some decent speed to really change his game this offseason. Kids grow so much from their 2 to 3 year and we see it all the time, especially when they go back to a school they’ve played before. I don’t know how it’ll work for him but I’m a fan for sure and 100% want to reep the rewards of this young man playing through all he has here at Kentucky. I really think if he stays and gets some great players around him he’s can become an All SEC PLAYER before he leaves. He’s got some work to do, and yeah I hate how much he just stood around at the three line most the time and wouldn’t cut if you beat him, lol, if he can really bust his butt on defense and work hard to become a better cutter and rebounder, he can be great in my opinion. It’s all up to him. His ball handling needs work as well and im sure he’ll work on that too.
 

MaysviileKY

Junior
Jul 17, 2025
306
386
63
The only issue with Chandler is that he can’t guard a fire hydrant.

But this could very well be coaching.

Pope’s teams are soft, can’t guard, and can’t rebound.
Neither could Reed Sheppard. They both can’t stay in front of anyone with quickness. But both have good anticipation and play passing lanes.

Chandler had some of the most memorable defensive plays on the team this past year. So yes he can play some defense. Just needs some help with quickness and positioning.

Maybe Mo Williams can help with some of his deficiencies through improved coaching of the guard position.
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,540
80,122
113
I'm gonna wait and see what Pope gets from the portal and then crap my pants.
I'm willing to at least see what he comes up with before I throw cold water on the season.
Maybe he will surprise us. If not, Pope knows the ramifications. He won't be our coach after next year.
After watching AZ and Purdue and their talent, the picture cleared up for me. We weren't even close to an elite team as if I needed more info based on the seasons results. There is a huge disparity between our talent and the true elite teams.

Pope has a lot to do to make next year's team elite but stranger things have happened. He may well get top players.
After Lowe went to the portal, I was encouraged. Pope knows he is on thin ice.
Coaching is even larger
 

AJBlue

Junior
Dec 16, 2015
222
393
63
He's too wildly inconsistent and limited in too many ways to be a main guy right now. Could he take more of a leap, I think so. I'd love to see it.
Yeah good player but could take a huge leap with just one area of development and that is adding the mid range and driving game to his game. He has all the tools to do it but just has a timid mindset to do it. For a guy with his athletic ability its frustrating to see him hesitate to break down his man off the dribble, and on the occasion when he does he gets in the lane and never looks to the basket to finish but looks to get rid of it.

The guy can be a 3 level scorer with an NBA future if he just learned to trust himself and do that. Especially the mid range game in the lane. It took Jeff Sheppard a while to learn the same thing but he finally broke out his senior year. Collin has that same ability and with the way he can shoot it from deep he would make a big impact for us next year if he develops this game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: theBlues and jedwar

CUJO_1970

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
387
1,091
93
I'd hate to see Chandler go - I think his work ethic and maturity can be a big help for next year's team. He had his down times, but he also directly influenced several Kentucky wins last season.
 

BigBluefoot

All-American
Jul 4, 2025
1,501
6,208
113
He can absolutely drive with enough spacing too. Has a few of our best dunks in years.
Yeah, I think we have people who like to make judgements based on skin color stereotypes. And maybe this is an indictment of Pope's recruiting and or development, but he's probably the most athletic dude on this team. We have no one coming in better, so it's ridiculous to want him gone. Chandler's biggest issue is between his ears. And Im not sure why we think kids can't get better. Chandler can get better. Jasper J can get better and stronger. Will they under this coaching staff? Who knows, but they absolutely can. We need everyone back we can get.
 

JonathanW2

Senior
Aug 6, 2025
392
578
93
Chandler absolutely has a ton of talent and now has to money to hire whoever he needs to train at the highest level this offseason. He has the vertical, the shooting, and some decent speed to really change his game this offseason. Kids grow so much from their 2 to 3 year and we see it all the time, especially when they go back to a school they’ve played before. I don’t know how it’ll work for him but I’m a fan for sure and 100% want to reep the rewards of this young man playing through all he has here at Kentucky. I really think if he stays and gets some great players around him he’s can become an All SEC PLAYER before he leaves. He’s got some work to do, and yeah I hate how much he just stood around at the three line most the time and wouldn’t cut if you beat him, lol, if he can really bust his butt on defense and work hard to become a better cutter and rebounder, he can be great in my opinion. It’s all up to him. His ball handling needs work as well and im sure he’ll work on that too.
For Chandler I think his weakness that affects his game is strength. He's not strong enough to fight through screens, so he often goes around them. He's not strong enough to absorb contact & finish around the rim well when he does drive.
So obviously weight room needs to be a summer focus for him. At the same time, the driving issue could be resolved the same way Reeves did it, by developing a good 6-12' floater (before the contact). Reeves floater his last year was amazingly good (he made 55.7% of his 2's, and I bet 60+% on the floaters). Chandler made 48.8% of his 2's this year, but I bet if just 13 of those were breakaway dunks then he shot <40% on his other 2's.
 

ZaytovenCat

All-American
Apr 25, 2013
23,837
8,259
97
Agree! Wasn’t Chandler a top 35 recruit coming out before his mission trip? Not sure why some feel he’s not UK level. He has the athleticism but needs to hone the skills. If used properly he could definitely be a Jeff Sheppard type player.
Yes he was. Between On3, 24/7, ESPN and Rivals he was ranked #34, #33, #29 and #41 overall respectively. He absolutely has the talent to play here and is mostly going to be as much if not more talented than any guard Pope brings in for next year.
 

rivercatinfl

All-Conference
Nov 21, 2012
1,955
1,852
97
Yeah good player but could take a huge leap with just one area of development and that is adding the mid range and driving game to his game. He has all the tools to do it but just has a timid mindset to do it. For a guy with his athletic ability its frustrating to see him hesitate to break down his man off the dribble, and on the occasion when he does he gets in the lane and never looks to the basket to finish but looks to get rid of it.

The guy can be a 3 level scorer with an NBA future if he just learned to trust himself and do that. Especially the mid range game in the lane. It took Jeff Sheppard a while to learn the same thing but he finally broke out his senior year. Collin has that same ability and with the way he can shoot it from deep he would make a big impact for us next year if he develops this game.
I'd love to see him do these things. He's a keeper if he does.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ruppsrunt1

UKJenning

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2022
744
2,023
57
There are a good number of times we just shut down teams (and not just because they miss shots).
The issue is more on defending consistency, than on not being able to defend.
We shut down garbage teams. This SEC was garbage this season and the NCAAT proved it.

Thankfully we didn’t play one of the elite teams all season.

KY should be able to play with elite teams not get ran off the court against them.

if a coach can’t get his players to buy in and defend consistently then it’s on him.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: ruppsrunt1

JonathanW2

Senior
Aug 6, 2025
392
578
93
We shut down garbage teams. This SEC was garbage this season and the NCAAT proved it.

Thankfully we didn’t play one of the elite teams all season.

KY should be able to play with elite teams not get ran off the court against them.

if a coach can’t get his players to buy in and defend consistently then it’s on him.
The SEC was "garbage"? Well you clearly do not know basketball.
Was the SEC the best league in the country this year like it was last year? No.
But it was probably the 2nd best league, or at worst the 3rd best league.
I think the SEC went 9-2 in first/opening round games. That's pretty good, certainly not "garbage".
Maybe the SEC only had 1 team in the top dozen or so, but had 4 in the top 25, & probably 8 in the top 40. That's NOT "garbage".

UK played Florida, a legit top 8-10 team) 3 times, all 3 were single digit games.
UK played Gonzaga BEFORE Huff (their top scorer & 2nd best player) got injured, he went for 20 vs UK, but yes we did get run off the court by them.
And the metrics showed that we played as many or more top 25 teams as anyone (UF *3, Vandy *2, UT *2, Mich St, St. Johns, Alab, Gonz, UNC, Ark, UL before their best player got hurt).

I never said the coach shouldn't have gotten the team to defend consistently. But I think the fact that they sometimes can, and other times don't, instead of being a coaching problem, is a motivation problem (by the coach). Should be simple, if you don't guard, you don't play.
 

KyKevin

All-Conference
Dec 28, 2021
1,561
2,376
113
If he goes back to BYU I am going to laugh my *** off at all the people here who wanted him to go that will be crying like babies when he is averaging 18 a game as a SR


Same with Garrison, he will have a fkn career day, if he plays for another SEC team, and plays against Kentucky.
 

KyKevin

All-Conference
Dec 28, 2021
1,561
2,376
113
I agree he could really break out soon. I’d hate to lose him.


Many on here don't act like kids can improve in a year under Pope. But about way to many are fkn trolls, or just trying to be a smart a.ss to a new poster.

We need 4 or 5 of these kids back, if Pope is back.
And I believe Chandler will be Loyal to Pope, if he's not to fkn sick of hearing the bulls.hit. But every one has limits.
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,540
80,122
113
Many on here don't act like kids can improve in a year under Pope. But about way to many are fkn trolls, or just trying to be a smart a.ss to a new poster.

We need 4 or 5 of these kids back, if Pope is back.
And I believe Chandler will be Loyal to Pope, if he's not to fkn sick of hearing the bulls.hit. But every one has limits.
Yeah their junior and senior year is usually the best version of themselves too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ruppsrunt1

UKJenning

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2022
744
2,023
57
The SEC was "garbage"? Well you clearly do not know basketball.
Was the SEC the best league in the country this year like it was last year? No.
But it was probably the 2nd best league, or at worst the 3rd best league.
I think the SEC went 9-2 in first/opening round games. That's pretty good, certainly not "garbage".
Maybe the SEC only had 1 team in the top dozen or so, but had 4 in the top 25, & probably 8 in the top 40. That's NOT "garbage".

UK played Florida, a legit top 8-10 team) 3 times, all 3 were single digit games.
UK played Gonzaga BEFORE Huff (their top scorer & 2nd best player) got injured, he went for 20 vs UK, but yes we did get run off the court by them.
And the metrics showed that we played as many or more top 25 teams as anyone (UF *3, Vandy *2, UT *2, Mich St, St. Johns, Alab, Gonz, UNC, Ark, UL before their best player got hurt).

I never said the coach shouldn't have gotten the team to defend consistently. But I think the fact that they sometimes can, and other times don't, instead of being a coaching problem, is a motivation problem (by the coach). Should be simple, if you don't guard, you don't play.
Congratulations on the moral victories we had.

Especially playing the football school of Florida within single digits 3 times. 😂

We got whipped up on by several football schools this season.