How is Collin Chandler so fearless on deep 3-point attempts? By attending the Koby Brea Academy

It wasn’t the case early on in his freshman campaign, but Collin Chandler is now oozing with confidence. You don’t launch a 28-footer in the second half of an NCAA Tournament game without having no doubt in your mind that the shot is going in. And that’s exactly what Chandler did in Kentucky’s 84-75 Round of 32 victory over Illinois on Sunday night in Milwaukee.

“I didn’t realize how far I was,” Chandler said postgame with a smile. “I was open, maybe that’s why I was open. I don’t know.”

As has been the case for over a month now, Chandler played important minutes for the Wildcats. Against the Fighting Illini, the 6-foot-5 guard finished with six points (2-3 3PT), one rebound, and three steals in 18 minutes of action. He drained a triple five minutes into the game and then had the confidence — the audacity, honestly — to fire one off from well beyond the arc during a key moment in the second half.

His feet were literally on the March Madness logo when the ball left his hand. It turned a nine-point Kentucky lead into a dozen with 12:34 to go. It was a shot the ‘Cats needed to fall after Illinois made it a single-digit game for the first time in over five minutes.

“Hit one in the first half, that felt good,” he added. “It’s good to see the first one go down and have confidence to shoot the next. That’s what we need. We can’t be out there scared to shoot, cause we don’t have time for that. We can’t afford it.“

Collin Chandler from the logo pic.twitter.com/xAsRzPpisO

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) March 23, 2025

Chandler credited his shooting confidence to watching arguably the best outside shooter in all of college basketball for the last several months. With a teammate like Koby Brea, who is shooting 43.8 percent from deep this season, he was able to pick up a few tricks.

“Attending the Koby Brea Academy a little bit, and watching him all season,” Chandler said of how he was able to make the logo three-pointer. “Trying to take a little bit from his playbook.”

“He’s a great student,” Brea said with a smile when asked about Chandler’s comments. “I’ll shoot for hours and stuff, after and before practice whatever. And he’s just watching… (Against Troy on Friday) he hit a shot-fake, side-step three and I was like dang, he took that from my book. That’s what’s up though. It’s good to see.”

Chandler has made at least one three-pointer in his last six games now. Going back to Kentucky’s win over Vanderbilt on Feb. 19, he’s been a full-time member of the rotation. He’s shooting 13-26 (50 percent) from deep during that 10-game span playing 15 minutes per outing.

“I’m just proud of him for his confidence,” Ansley Almonor said of his teammate. “He’s staying confident. He’s always in the gym. He’s always working. He deserves it. I feel like he has some big moments coming up too, cause we’re planning to play into April. So it’s definitely fun. I’m happy for him.”

“That’s what I’m saying about our freshmen: they have a crazy confidence,” Amari Williams added. “Because me as a freshman, I would never do something like that (shooting from the logo). To see him do that and make it and be so calm and collected after that just kinda shows what kind of guys they are.”

Chandler is performing like anything but a freshman right now. Kentucky needs him to keep that up with Tennessee up next in the Sweet 16.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.