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Wild ride proves beneficial for Chaney

Connecticut forward Allan Chaney must have read about Jordan DeMercy last summer. Both players got into an All-American camp the same way and the results are nearly identical.
Chaney, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward from New London (Conn.) High School, did not receive an official invite to the Rbk U camp this summer. That didn't keep him and his father going to the tournament headquarters and waited for an opportunity like DeMercy did last year.
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DeMercy drove to Indianapolis with some of his Norcross (Ga.) teammates, and was allowed to participate after seven hours of waiting for an answer. After a good week of work, DeMercy quickly became a coveted target and ended up at Florida State.
"Here's the thing, I wasn't really supposed to get into the camp…" Chaney says.
"I was on the run when I got the invite. I had to go to Baltimore (where his family is from) and I had to go to Philly and to Connecticut. I was always somewhere. I couldn't fill out my official invite and the paperwork. When I found out it would be tough to get in, we just went down there to Philly and waited."
And waited. And waited. And waited. And that is where the story mirrors DeMercy's.
Chaney waited for roughly three hours to get into the camp despite warnings that "it might be tight to get you in" because of a numbers crunch.
"I just stayed there and waited patiently," Chaney said. "My heart was beating but I'd wait for three hours again if I had to."
Like DeMercy, the wait proved to be beneficial. The big bodied forward proved himself as a capable scorer and rebounder against the top competition in the camp. Chaney went from a regional recruit to a national must-see prospect.
"For the high-major schools, they probably didn't know me at first. They didn't even know who I was," Chaney said. "I had a lot of low-major and mid-major schools that had offered me. They knew who I was. A couple of those coaches knew that if I had a chance to play, that this could happen. It happened…It was tough getting in and once I got in, it took care of itself. It was all positive. I think I got a chance to show my all around game. Number one thing was playing hard and then it just played itself out."
After the camp, his list increased at a daily clip. Two weeks later in Las Vegas, Chaney was one of the most sought after players in Sin City.
Fast forward to the first of August. Chaney said he trimmed his list to 10 schools: Florida, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech, St. John's, Georgetown, Indiana and Boston College. All but Georgetown have offered, he said.
"To be honest, I haven't had a chance to really dive into it," Chaney said.
He said he has yet to set up any visits and hopes to tackle that process in the near future.
"As far as school goes, I want to major in accounting or sports management," Chaney said. "Good program in one of those things will be nice. Location doesn't matter. It can be far, it can be close. As long as I feel comfortable with the coaching staff I'll go anywhere and I know that I can compete to play my freshman year."
After waiting for his opportunity at Rbk U, Chaney said he'll wait as long as he needs to find the right place to call home for college.
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