Another MOKAN Elite prospect pops up on KU’s radar

By Matt Tait     Jul 17, 2019

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Kansas University basketball recruiting

Add another member of the MOKAN Elite AAU program to the list of prospects on KU’s radar during the current recruiting cycle.

According to his Twitter feed, Kennedy Chandler, the No. 28-ranked prospect in the 2021 class per Rivals.com recently picked up an offer from Kansas.

Chandler, who teamed with [recent KU commitment Dajuan Harris to help bring home the Peach Jam title last weekend in Georgia,][1] averaged 14 points and six assists per game for MOKAN while putting on a display of highlight-reel finishes at the rim, often on the receiving end from Harris passes.

While the Peach Jam experience — Chandler’s first — helped put him on the national map, the thrill of bringing home the trophy still outweighed everything else.

“Man when that buzzer went off, it was a great experience,” he told Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com. “It was a crazy atmosphere, me and my team just went out there a played hard every single game and we deserved that win.”

According to Stockrisers, the performance netted Chandler some attention from the likes of North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Louisville and other high-major programs.

Per his Twitter page, it also led to scholarship offers from Penny Hardaway and Memphis, Lon Kruger and Oklahoma, Jim Boeheim and Syracuse, Sean Miller and Arizona and, of course, Bill Self and Kansas.

Still just a junior-to-be at Briarcrest Christian in Eads, Tenn., Chandler landed on @D1Circuit’s All-Underclass squad for Nike’s 2019 EYBL circuit, averaging 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game during the regular season while shooting 48.9% from the floor, 71.4% from the free throw line and 36.4% from 3-point range.

Chandler, who is listed at 6-foot, 163 pounds by Rivals.com, has been invited to the upcoming USA Basketball U18 training camp, July 25-28 in Colorado Springs, and many recruiting analysts view his athleticism and tenacity as his biggest strengths.

Wrote 247 Sports analyst Brian Snow after the Nike Elite 100 recruiting summit earlier this month: “One of the best athletes from the point guard position, Chandler was getting into the lane any time he wanted throughout the week. He needs to continue to improve as a shooter, but his change of pace and dynamic first step make him nearly impossible to deal with in an isolation setting. Also, Chandler is a good passer with a good feel for the game. In transition especially he stands out with his decision making. Despite not being the biggest guard, standing under 6-feet tall, he is a very good finisher around the rim because of his crafty style and basketball IQ.”

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2019/jul/16/point-guard-dajuan-harris-commits-to-kan/

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.