Collin Chandler explains how being married has helped him on the basketball floor

Collin Chandler returns to Kentucky this season for his sophomore season of college basketball. Chandler, who was Mark Pope‘s first ever commitment at Kentucky when he took over last season, averaged 2.7 points, one rebound and 0.7 assists last season.

He however ramped up towards the end of the season, as he averaged 6.3 points per game over the final six games. His role slowly grew following the injury of Jaxson Robinson and he showed flashes of really good ball, capped off by a logo three-point shot against Illinois in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

Chandler, who proposed to his (now wife) Hannah during Kentucky’s trip to New York to face Ohio State last season, discussed how being married has helped him on the basketball floor.

“I’m sure there are many things that I’ll find out as the more time goes on, but what I will say is a lot of basketball is mental,” Chandler said. “There’s a lot of mental aspects to the game and your performance. Being around Hannah helps me a lot with that in kind of understanding what the focus of my life should be and staying grounded. She helps me understand, because sometimes my wife is basketball right, if I’m not playing well I’m not feeling joy. Or if I’m playing well I’m feeling over the moon. And she helps me to where the way I’m playing doesn’t dictate the amount of joy that I’m feeling in my life. I do know that that makes me a better person, but also but my mental state better as a basketball player.”

The Farmington, UT native returned to basketball prior to last season following a two-year Mormon mission trip to Sierra Leone and London. After having a full offseason of preparation, the six-foot-five guard is looking to reach the next level of his game.

“There is a balance and there’s like so many distractions,” Chandler said. “So many things that can take you away from your goals and what you want to do and distract you. But yeah, I think we’re always trying to stay focused and minimize the distractions towards our goals as a team.”

Chandler is one of four returning contributing players from last season’s team, joined by Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison and Trent Noah. In Mark Pope‘s first season at Kentucky, the ‘Cats made their first run to the Sweet Sixteen since 2019.