We’re seeing encouraging signs from a player key to Kentucky’s postseason chances
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Game day: No. 19 Kentucky 95, LSU 64
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and LSU in Rupp Arena.
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It’s hard to believe that it’s almost over, but it’s almost over.
Tuesday brought a first and a final. In the final home game of the first season with Mark Pope as Kentucky’s basketball coach, the Wildcats smashed struggling LSU 95-64 on Senior Night in Rupp Arena.
Saturday brings the final road game of the season, a tough trip to Missouri to play a Tigers team that has rebounded from going winless in the SEC last season to a 10-win conference campaign — with two games to go — this time around.
After that, it’s tournament time, which begs the most important question: What must happen for Kentucky to cap Pope’s debut campaign with a strong finish?
Obvious answer: Find a way to take the sting from the loss of Jaxson Robinson, the team’s second-leading scorer, who was to undergo wrist surgery on Wednesday, thus ending his college career.
In that regard, Kentucky found encouragement Tuesday from the play of one player who could prove particularly important in March’s Madness.
That player is Collin Chandler, the 6-foot-5 freshman from Farmington, Utah, who was the first five-star commit in BYU history. When he returned from his two-year Mormon mission, Chandler followed Pope to Lexington.
The guard scored a season-high 11 points in 17 minutes Tuesday. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished four assists. He was 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. He made an impression.
“Collin and Trent (Noah) and Travis (Perry) in some ways are just incredibly important to our stretch run here,” said Pope when asked about his freshmen. “Those guys are ready, they are capable and those three guys have got to step up and make huge plays for us like veteran experienced players, and they can.”
Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, Perry has performed admirably backing up point guard Lamont Butler in the absence of Kerr Kriisa, the Arizona/West Virginia transfer who hasn’t played since Dec. 7 after foot surgery. Another Kentucky high school star, Noah has provided intermittent sparks throughout the season, including 11 points in UK’s 75-64 victory over then No. 5 Tennessee in Rupp on Feb. 11.
Now it’s Chandler’s turn. Koby Brea has assumed the starting spot in Robinson’s absence. The Dayton transfer is averaging 13.6 points over his last five games. He’s a known 3-point threat. His defense has improved. Still, Brea can’t be expected to play 40 minutes, especially not the way Pope wants his team to play.
Enter Chandler, who is certainly athletic enough to fill the bill. After a two-year layoff, he was rusty and in need of conditioning upon his arrival on campus. He’s progressed slowly throughout the season, but with the recent spate of injuries, his learning curve has accelerated. Same for his time on the floor.
He played 15 minutes in UK’s 78-73 win at Tennessee on Jan. 28, then 17 in the Feb. 1 loss to Arkansas. He scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds in the win over Vanderbilt at Rupp on Feb. 19, then five points in 13 minutes at Alabama. He played 15 minutes and scored four points in the loss to Auburn.
Tuesday was easily Chandler’s best game yet. He was active and effective. His four assists were a season-high. So were his three made 3-pointers. He was disruptive on defense.
“I’ve just been wanting to help this team any way I can, he said Tuesday. “That was defensively. So that was a focus for me, getting better defensively coming in, being solid and being reliable as a defender. I needed to grow offensively and be a threat out there. Because if I’m not a threat out there it affects my teammates offensively as well on offense.”
For the last couple of weeks, there was the thought — the hope — that Robinson would return. That’s gone. Sadly, he’s not coming back. And though a freshman, Chandler is talented enough to help pick up the slack.
“We all need to step up, we need to grow up a little bit,” Chandler said. “So that’s been a focus for us. Nobody cares if you’re a freshman out there anymore.”
