Collin Chandler had to find his joy without producing to earn breakthrough at Kentucky

Collin Chandler is comfortable admitting the start of his time playing college basketball did not go as planned. A former top-35 recruit out of high school, the four-star guard felt he was ready to come in and make an immediate impact at Kentucky — and to his credit, he was a clear standout in the team’s Blue-White scrimmage going into the season.

Then he hit a freshman wall, earning double-figure minutes in just one game in December before sitting four games entirely to open SEC play in January. Chandler saw extended run at Tennessee and vs. Arkansas, then saw no more than five minutes in four straight games.

Sine then, though, he’s had back-to-back games of 15 and 13 minutes played while scoring multiple buckets in both outings for the first time since November. He broke through against Vanderbilt with seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, then followed that up with five points, two steals and an assist at Alabama.

More than anything, he’s playing with confidence he simply didn’t have up to this point, things finally clicking for the 6-5 freshman out of Utah.

“I think multiple things go into it,” Chandler said of his recent breakthrough. “One is just feeling more comfortable, and — I mean, it comes with time. I don’t know exactly what like clicked or what exactly changed over the past few games, but I can say I’m definitely feeling very comfortable and confident in the role that I need to play.”

He said after the win against the Commodores he was ‘full of frustration’ earlier in the season when things didn’t go his way. At the time, Mark Pope compared his situation to that of a bamboo tree, one that grows ‘massive networks of roots’ before they ‘shoot up out of the ground and they’re growing a yard a day almost, which is almost incomprehensible.’

Patience was necessary, but understandably difficult.

“Every player wants to succeed,” Chandler said. “They want to do what they want and to perform the way they know they can perform. When that doesn’t happen, it’s very frustrating. I think every player goes through that, so that’s kind of what you’ve been dealing with and learning how to take that frustration and turn it into something positive, turn it into working harder and focusing more. I think that’s what I’ve learned and what I’ve been trying to do. I think the frustration is — there’s going to be continual frustration every game. We’re frustrated and we’re learning how to deal with that. And so I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Chandler stepped away from competitive basketball for two years while serving on a mission trip. Coming from BYU, Mark Pope and assistant coach Cody Fueger saw many players come through the program with similar situations and knew exactly how to get the prized recruit back on his feet after returning home.

Not every case is identical, but there is always a process and they’ve undoubtedly helped Chandler through his to get him to this point. Their trust and experience have been game-changers as the freshman guard has found his breakthrough.

“It’s very nice. Him and Coach Fueger both dealt with a lot of players coming back from missions, so it’s nice having somebody that can reassure you that it’s going to be all right. They’ve seen what’s happening,” Chandler said. “I’m sure everybody coming off their mission has their own timeline and their own (situations), so they can’t tell me exactly when things are going to click or things are going to get better.

“It’s been a big patience game and trust and faith and all of that. I’m sure it’s going to continue to be that way. There are more things I have to learn, more things I have to go through, and the same with everybody else.”

How did that two-year mission trip help him handle the hurdles of his debut season at Kentucky? His happiness once went hand-in-hand with his on-court production, life not just revolving around basketball, but playing basketball well.

Letting go and trusting the process no matter how he’s playing on the floor has paved the path to this ongoing breakthrough.

“Basketball has been my entire life growing up, and it’s been something that affects me a lot, the way that I play,” Chandler said. “I think one thing that I’ve changed and learned is that my joy off the court doesn’t depend on my performance on the court, whereas in my life, it has a lot. I always have to remind myself that things are much bigger in life than the way that I’m performing on the court. My worth is a lot more than how I’m performing.

“That helps me to take a step back and to come fresh every day and really find joy, no matter the results that I’m getting from the court.”