'Getting better every day': Kentucky freshman Collin Chandler counting little wins during re-acclimation process

Collin Chandler arrived on a college campus a vastly different way than he ever imagined. A different school than he originally planned on attending. Different state. Different teammates.

Chandler was a member of the 2022 class and was one of the top players in the country.

He was ranked as a top-35 player when he committed to BYU and Mark Pope.

But a two-year mission trip put a pause on his basketball career.

Then -- about a month before arriving back in Utah and a few months before arriving on campus at BYU -- Pope took over the Kentucky basketball program. A one-time 59-mile trip from his hometown to campus had now, potentially turned into a 1,655-mile trek.

"The news came fast," Chandler told reporters for the first time last week. "I was committed to BYU and planned on going there for around three years. It's something you envision your life looking like and it changed really fast .. Rolling with the punches and making the best out of everything. Coming here is something only kinds can dream of and so it's something I'm so excited for."

That excitement came from the relationships he had with the coaching staff -- Mark Pope and Cody Fueger.

"Coach Pope and Fueger and the rest of the coaching staff are all just loving people," Chandler said.

While it wasn't an easy decision to take off again -- after being gone for two years -- he knew it was an opportunity he had to take.

"I was more than excited that coach Pope got the job and he wanted me to follow him," Chandler said. "This is something kids can only dream of and so that's what I felt the whole time." 

“Collin is the definition of a servant leader," Pope said when Chandler signed with Kentucky. "He, on his own desire and expense, chose to leave basketball and his life to go and serve people in Africa and Europe for two years. It won’t take long for every Kentucky fan to feel his heart and his love for others."

While Chandler is a great person off the floor, he's just as good on the floor.

Chandler scored 1,587 career points and made 135 3-pointers in his career at Farmington High (UT). 

He was named the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 after averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

“Collin Chandler is one of the most talented high school players in the country,” Pope said. “He has a silky-smooth jumper, a slippery ability to get to the rim, an explosive burst and the most impressive of all, he has incredible processing speed as he reads space and time and makes plays on pure instinct."

Missing two years, however, is no easy task to come back from.

Not only did he need to ramp back up his physical activity, he also needed to get back into basketball shape -- vastly different than being 'in shape'.

Then, it was about sharpening the skills that made him into one of the best players in the country.

"Within the last week, week and a half i've started to play five-on-five ... I don't know if I knew what to expect with coming back -- what it was gonna be like," Chandler said about returning to the court. "It's hard work getting back and it's a grind trying to get my body back right and especially for those first few weeks working hard on getting my body back but not being able to play live basketball much. That was the toughest part, but it's been cool to see just the gradual effect of getting better."

While Chandler doesn't have any teammates who know exactly what he's going through, he does have Jaxson Robinson -- a fifth-year senior who played two years under Mark Pope at BYU.

And for Robinson, he's seen guys go through this type of re-acclimation process and likes what he sees from Chandler.

"Collin's picking stuff up quickly and I haven't seen anyone else move as fast and learn as fast as he is right now when it comes to the ramp up," Robinson said. "It's pretty impressive to watch."

For Chandler, he knows it's going to take time. But, he also knows his skillset and work ethic.

So while it may take some extra time to get back to where he was two years ago, he's seeing the small wins that makes him excited about the future.

"It's not very many times where you feel like you're getting noticeably better every day, but that's something that I've felt coming back," Chandler said. "Just feeling like I'm getting better every day."