FORT MYERS, FL. – No one has garnered more attention during the early portion of the high school season than Kennedy Chandler. Already sitting as a five-star prospect, Chandler is now a blue blood priority. Following another strong showing at the City of Palms Classic, Chandler discussed his latest offers, feelings for some of the programs recruiting him and what his visit schedule looks like.
“It has been crazy,” Chandler said about the recent uptick of interest in his recruitment. “A lot of schools have been reaching out, calling me, texting me, and right now, I am just enjoying the process and getting ready for the season ahead.”
Duke and North Carolina are the latest to offer Chandler, though it doesn’t make either the leader for him. “It is about what I look at but right now, my recruitment is wide open and I need to figure out what I want to focus on and prioritize upon in the future and find out what is the best fit for me,” Chandler stated.”
He has already taken official visits to Ole Miss, Tennessee and Syracuse, and has two others scheduled for Florida State and Michigan, while the local Memphis program has kept him as a top target.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Duke: “Coach K and those guys, that was always a school that I always watched whenever I was young. To get an offer from him whenever he called me, it was a pleasure for him to just offer. They are going to keep recruiting me right now and that was just a big time offer for me.”
Florida State: “That is Coach Stan Jones, he has been recruiting me really hard. It is a great program and one that is slept on. Nobody really sees all that they can do and that is a great team and a great school.”
Memphis: “It has been good with them. I have known Penny (Hardaway) for a long time. He is a great coach. He has the number-one recruiting class in America. They are doing good right now. I know James (Wiseman) isn’t playing right now, they’re having a tough time playing without him but they have been doing a good job since last year and also right now.
“I have known Penny ever since he coached high school and we have a great relationship.”
Michigan: “He (Juwan Howard) has just said that he is lucky to recruit me but I think that he has done a great job with what he has been doing at Michigan and I like the way that he coaches. I played with his son (Jace Howard) whenever we were young so I have known him for a while along with Jett (Howard). Juwan, he is a great guy and I am looking forward to my visit down there.”
North Carolina: “That was a big time offer from Roy Williams. For them to offer me, that is big-time. North Carolina is a big school, he is a great coach and they have a great program over there.”
Ole Miss: “I have visited them a couple of times. I have a good relationship with Coach Kermit (Davis). They were the first SEC school to offer me so they really have faith in me with what I can do and what I can do on the court. They also have a good relationship with my family, too.”
Syracuse: “That was a good time; that was the first time that I had been down there and I had never been to that part of New York. I had a great time and I got to chance to see them play Virginia. I got to speak with Coach (Jim) Boeheim and have a great time.”
Tennessee: “It was a great time there with him (Paolo Banchero). We have talked about playing together at the same college. We haven’t talked in a while but we might see where we want to go, I am not saying we are definitely going to, but we would like to play together. He is a great player and I am looking forward to seeing him do good things in the future.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Chandler will take an official visit to Florida State on February 2, and then head to Michigan two weeks later. In the meantime, he has scheduled another visit for that month. “I am taking an unofficial visit to North Carolina for whenever they play Duke,” he said of his trip to Chapel Hill on February 9. “I haven’t scheduled my visit to Duke yet.”
Once March rolls around, Chandler hopes to take a greater look at his recruitment. “I am going to see who is prioritizing me and then focus on them,” he noted. “I will probably do that soon after my last official visit and see who I need to start focusing on.”
A quick-twitch guard that is nearly impossible to stay in front of, Chandler is one of the best playmakers in America. He gets to the basket whenever he likes and has improved athletically and with his jump shot in recent months. A clear-cut favorite has yet to emerge within his recruitment but rather, expect for a more concise school list to be produced prior to his travel season in March or April.
