Mark Pope on Collin Chandler, aka Captain Clutch: 'He loves it down the stretch'

The Tennessee game lit a fire under Collin Chandler. The sophomore guard hit four threes in Kentucky’s win in Knoxville, the most against an SEC opponent in his career. Since then, he’s been on a tear, scoring double figures in Kentucky’s last four wins. During that span, he’s hit 10 threes, four in the win over Oklahoma on Wednesday night en route to a career-high tying 18 points.

It was during that game that ESPN’s Tom Hart gave Chandler the nickname Captain Clutch for his knack of hitting big shots. At his press conference today, Mark Pope was asked about that nickname. He was more than happy to rave about Chandler and his recent run.

“He loves it down the stretch, doesn’t he?” Pope said. “I mean, my goodness, he just is putting together play after play after play after play.”

“There’s such a hyper focus on every word a player says, or every play he makes, or everything he does, and then we make a grand evaluation on it. And I think that’s fun. There’s a funness to that, but what’s great is to watch guys’ growth trajectory. I think that’s what’s really inspiring. And Colin is making strides. He just keeps getting better and better and better, and he loves the moment. He’s not afraid of the moment; he’s not afraid of all the pressure that comes with it. He just embraces it. And the guys around him are doing it too.”

Chandler’s recent play is even better when you consider what preceded it. Before the Tennessee game, he hadn’t scored in double figures since Kentucky’s loss to Gonzaga in early December. His minutes dwindled and he moved out of the starting lineup, playing just five minutes vs. Missouri. In Pope’s mind, that’s when the real growth happened.

“At one point, he went several games without playing much, and we talked a bunch, and he just was continuing like, ‘Hey, I get it. I knew what I was signing up for, and this is how it goes.’ And sometimes things are humming and clicking and going great, and sometimes you just have to put your head down and work really hard to try and grow.

“It’s fun to watch him right now, because he’s becoming more comfortable in his own skin, right? He’s becoming more comfortable with what we do and how we do it, and how it looks and how it feels.”

Given the impact the Tennessee game had on Chandler last month, I can’t wait to see what he does in round two tomorrow night in Rupp Arena.

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