How Briarcrest’s Chandler went from unranked to five-star
When you watch Briarcrest’s Kennedy Chandler, the things that make him a five-star point guard prospect for the Class of 2021 jump out clearly.
He’s typically the quickest guard on the floor with an explosive first step that allows him to penetrate the defense and create open looks for himself and others. He handles the ball well and has strong decision-making abilities that make him an efficient facilitator. He’s an expert at jumping passing lanes and poking the ball away for steals.
He has a well-rounded game, and it has led to a state title, a Peach Jam title, a DII-AA Mr. Basketball Award and a five-star prospect rating all in one year.
“He’s the ideal point of attack lead guard who can run a half-court offense but also be a more-than-capable defender,” Rivals national basketball analyst Corey Evans said. “So there’s really no glaring hole in his game. And winning does a lot.”
Briarcrest coach John Harrington said that although Chandler is the Saints’ leading scorer, the 6-foot point guard has another gift that he doesn’t get to showcase during the high school season that helps him stand out to college coaches.
“The unique thing that he does that you don’t see out here is his ability to throw the lob. To make big guys better. That’s what I think caught the coaches’ eye,” Harrington said. “He makes those 6-10, 6-11, 7-foot guys better. He would make a James Wiseman, so much — I don’t know if you can make him better —
but with Kennedy's speed coming off and you have to help on him and he just throws it up there, that's his gift.”
Chandler's run with Mokan Elite last summer culminated in a Peach Jam title and vaulted him to his five-star ranking.
“After my first game in the EYBL session I got four offers in one day,” Chandler said. “That's when I knew my recruitment was going to start getting real heavy. I was real excited about that.”
Chandler went from beginning last season unranked with three offers to being a four-star at the end of Briarcrest's state title run. Now he's the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 2 point guard in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. His top 10 schools are Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Southern California and Tennessee. All of those schools offered him after the start of the EYBL season.
“That summer proved everything for me. It proved what type of player I was and what type of person I was,” Chandler said. “It was a big summer for me winning Peach Jam and winning state from last year. I'm just trying to do it again, over and over.”
Chandler has taken all five of his official visits for this season — Syracuse, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Michigan and Florida State.
He was recently named a finalist for this year's DII-AA Mr. Basketball Award. He's averaging 22.5 points, 4.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds, all of which are increases from a year ago.
“I know people be coming at my shoulder because of the rankings I'm getting or people say I'm better than them, but I just have to keep on improving and not take anything for granted on the court,” Chandler said.
Evans said that the main thing Chandler can improve on is his outside shooting. He shot 35 percent from three and 75 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season
“He's nearly impossible to stay in front of, but the one bugaboo with his game is his ability to make shots consistently,” Evans said. “He's gotten better at it, but it still doesn't show you how quick he is because guys can kind of lay off him on the defensive end and he can still get where he wants to with the basketball.”
Briarcrest (22-5) is set to host Father Ryan on Saturday in the DII-AA quarterfinals.