Collin Chandler is unlike any other player Big Blue Nation has seen at the University of Kentucky. We’re used to watching one-and-done talents play at Rupp Arena. He went the opposite direction, spending two years abroad on a service trip.

What should we expect from a player who hasn’t played competitive basketball in two years? How does Mark Pope get players who were sidelined during a Mormon mission trip ready to play?

“With these guys coming off a two-year service, their on-ramp is incredibly — it’s massively important. We have to go really slow,” Mark Pope shared with Matt Jones on Kentucky Sports Radio.

Unfortunately, he’s even a little bit further behind thanks to a minor offseason injury during summer workouts.

“He kind of got into full action and had a little setback. He’s almost fully back. It was super fun, because week six of our eight-week summer, all of a sudden he was dunking on guys, and everyone’s like, ‘Whoa. Where did this cat come from?’ Because we had an on-ramp that is so slow,” said Pope.

Chandler flashed plenty of talent the last time we saw him play competitive basketball. He was impressive during an AAU matchup against Reed Sheppard. Chandler was the sixth-ranked combo guard and the No. 22 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Chandler and Jaxson Robinson are the only two former BYU players to follow Pope to Kentucky. The former is expected to take longer to develop into a contributor in a crowded backcourt, but he’s expected to be full-go in practices very soon. Once that light switch flips, Pope is confident Chandler will become a fan favorite.

“He is going to be incredibly exciting. He’s almost back to live play. We’re thinking maybe next week he won’t go the full two-a-days, but maybe next week we’ll get him some live play,” said Pope.

“But this dude is going to capture the heart and soul of BBN and it’s going to be incredibly special.”

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