Mark Pope breaks down what Collin Chandler brings to the floor

First-year head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, Mark Pope, has been doing his best to rebuild the roster since taking over the program in mid-April. One player on his roster that Kentucky fans are excited to see on the floor next season is combo guard Colin Chandler.

Recently on the college hoops today podcast with John rothenstein, Pope dove into what kind of player Chandler is and what former Wildcat he reminds him of.

“It’s a great question, and it’s not an easy answer… because he’s got some uniqueness to him. He’s 6‘6” with shocking explosiveness and a real burst,” said Pope. “He’s got a really, really pretty stroke but, even more importantly, a soft ball — when the ball is released from his hands, it’s just really soft at the rim.  He’s gonna go pounce on you, run back to the other end of the court, and fly around and guard. And he’s got this incredible heart, man; it’s just rare.”

“I don’t know who to compare that to, but I know it’s the DNA of something incredibly special.”

Chandler is a former highly touted top 50 recruit from the 2022 cycle. The 6-foot-6 combo guard has not been in action for the last two years as he has been on a church mission with stops in London and Sierra Leone. Chandler’s skills and tools on and off the court make him one of one and an invaluable piece to the success of Kentucky under Pope’s first season running the program.

Pope on hanging banners at Kentucky: ‘That’s what we’ve been called to do’

Pope has made no ifs, ands, or buts about the task at hand as the head coach at Kentucky. It is a focus that he has maintained from his opening press conference to now and will continue to do until he accomplishes it.

Pope discussed his goal with the Wildcats during an appearance on ‘College Hoops Today’ with Jon Rothstein this week. He kept on with his aspiration to win national titles for Kentucky in order to best represent their program and fanbase during his tenure.

“Like, I do believe that the most satisfying thing, the thing that’s required here and is more important than anything else is representing Big Blue Nation and hanging banners,” said Pope. “That’s what we’ve been called to do.”