One of the most exciting parts of the Blue-White Game was the play of Kentucky freshman Collin Chandler. Heading into the season, Chandler was a big question mark for this team, knowing he was on the mission trip and it was still to be seen how long it would take him to be basketball ready. Clearly, the answer to that question is not long, knowing he had a massive night on Friday.
Chander scored 19 points on 7-10 shooting. He went 4-7 from three and added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals to the stat sheet. More than anything, what was exciting about the way Chandler played in this game was just how athletic he looked. At Big Blue Madness, Chandler’s dunk over Coach Pope and his wife showed he had some serious bounce, but his dunk over Brandon Garrison in the Blue-White Game was even more impressive.
Chandler was a player many expected to be a role player for this team, but the Blue-White Game was proof that he will be a massive part of this basketball team’s success.
The freshman is going to be a star, and now it makes a ton of sense why he is a player to whom NBA scouts have been paying a ton of attention to. Chandler will likely come off the bench for this team, but he will be a player who could win some games for the Wildcats.
What elevates a basketball team is having a few players who aren’t expected to be stars to have that kind of impact, and that is what Kentucky will get from Chandler.