He was a top 35 player in the 2022 recruiting class, the 2022 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year and averaged 21.7 points per game.

Collin Chandler, a 6-5 guard, signed with coach Mark Pope at Brigham Young but left for a two-year overseas Mormon mission trip to Sierra Leone and London rather than start his college basketball career. However, now he’s back and ready to start his collegiate career playing for Pope at Kentucky.

“I don’t think I really knew what to expect, what it was going to be like when I got back,” said Chandler. “It has been a grind to get my body back right. Those first few weeks I spent more time getting my body back than I did playing basketball. I have been able to tell a difference recently and can actually tell I am getting better every day.

Pope left BYU for Kentucky about a month before Chandler completed his mission trip in London. The talented guard quickly flipped his college commitment to Kentucky four days after Pope took over in the Bluegrass.

Chandler knows it would have been “cool” to play his college basketball in his home state but is thrilled to be at Kentucky.

“When it comes down to it, my dreams are to play with these guys here. I wanted to play with the best players possible and I felt like Kentucky gave me that opportunity,” Chandler said. “To play for coach Pope is something that I’ve looked forward to for all those years that I was committed to BYU.

“I wanted to learn from him. I love the way he thinks about basketball. I wanted to be able to eat up everything that he could teach me. I felt this was what I needed to do.”

Chandler said his time in west Africa in Sierra Leone was not about basketball. He joked he did not see a basketball or basketball goal the two months he was there. He had brought an inflatable basketball so he could dribble but that was it. Even when he got to England, he did not play in any competitive games or have any type of coaching.

The UK freshman said he realized how much he loved basketball when he was not able to play overseas.

 

“Coming back and playing again has just (reminded me) how much I love the game of basketball and how much it makes me happy,” Chandler said.

Pope reached out often to Chandler when he was overseas and Pope and assistant coach Cody Fueger were at the airport to greet him when he returned to the United States.

“It meant a lot to have him (Pope) and coach Fueger there when I got home to show that kind of love for me,” Chandler said. “All our coaches are loving people and we all feel that love. That’s why we want to meet the expectations they have for us and we know the expectations are really high here at Kentucky.”

Not only did Chandler average 21.7 points per game his final high school season, but he also averaged 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He had 15 games with 20 or more points.

“Collin is a really good player and he has a heart that is really big. The dude put down a basketball for two years and all the guys he was lighting up three years ago are now in the NBA but he went and served people he did not even know,” Pope said. “I don’t know if I have ever met a better human.”

Pope has not held Chandler back since his arrival on campus but the coach knows the recovery time a player needs after a mission trip. He has stressed the need for patience to Chandler.

“It’s great to have a coach willing to tell me to be patient and give me his perspective on what I am trying to do now that I am back,” Chandler said.

Pope has emphasized he believes Chandler will be a better player than some are expecting when he gets back to full speed. Numerous national recruiting analysts who watched Chandler play in high school feel the same way.

“I’m learning a lot from other players and competing against them and learning a lot from coach Pope and his staff. I am becoming a better player in different ways than I ever expected but it has been fun and will keep being fun,” Chandler said.