Of the top 20 prospects in the 2021 recruiting cycle for men's basketball, three elected to bypass college for the NBA G League.
Two of the top 12 recruits for 2023 have joined the newly formed Overtime Elite, so they will forgo their final two years of high school in addition to their freshman seasons of college.
Heralded hoops players have more avenues than ever before in which to profit earlier and earlier on their skills, but Kennedy Chandler decided to give it a good ol' college try. The nation's No. 1 point guard in the 2021 recruiting class is a Tennessee signee and is eager to get going on a team containing the veteran nucleus of Victor Bailey Jr., John Fulkerson, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi.
"I had the option to go to the G League, because they reached out, but my goal was always to have a college experience," Chandler said Wednesday afternoon on a Zoom call. "My dreams have always included going to a Final Four and winning a national championship. I always wanted to take the college route, and I knew that Tennessee was the right place for me."
The 6-foot, 172-pounder from Memphis will be closer to home in Knoxville than he was this past season, when he played at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas. The UT campus is significantly closer for Kennedy compared to Riga, Latvia, where he helped the United States earn a gold medal last weekend at the FIBA U19 World Cup.
Chandler averaged 7.7 points, 3.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 19.7 minutes as he played in all seven of the team's World Cup games. From 3-point range, he shot 9-for-23 for 39.1% accuracy.
"I learned a lot about the pace of the game and the speed of the game," Chandler said. "Overseas they play more physical than they do in high school, and I know it will be more physical in college. I will have to be more physical on the court and more of a vocal leader as well.
"Coming in as a freshman, I'm still the point guard, and I want to be a leader and affect my teammates."
The USA's 12-man roster topped Turkey, Mali, Australia, South Korea, Senegal and Canada before downing France 83-81 in Sunday's gold-medal game. The U.S. team trailed by five at the end of the third quarter of the title contest but rallied with the help of Chandler, who finished with five points and a team-high seven rebounds.
When Chandler wasn't competing, practicing, eating or sleeping in Latvia, which is in the Baltic Region of northern Europe and was formerly in the Soviet Union, he was keeping close tabs on the NBA playoffs.
"I watch all of the Chris Paul highlights, because he is my favorite player," Chandler said. "I watch him all the time. When I was in Latvia, all the games were like 4:30 in the morning my time, so every time I got back to the hotel, I watched a full game. I watched a lot of highlights.
"I watch everything he does - the way he leads, the way he defends as a small guard - I watch all his highlights and learn a lot from him."
Chandler is the headliner of a Tennessee signing class that ranks third nationally and includes five-star power forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, four-star center Jonas Aidoo and four-star small forward Jahmai Mashack. As the first of that bunch to commit, Chandler helped Rick Barnes land the rest and is eager to begin a season filled with promise.
"I wanted to build a great team that can win a national championship," Chandler said. "That is everybody's goal on this team, and I just wanted to have the best class come in ready to compete."
Football jersey numbers
Tennessee released its updated football roster Wednesday, which included jersey numbers for the eight players who have transferred into the program since spring practice: receiver Javonta Payton from Mississippi State (No. 3), quarterback Joe Milton from Michigan (7), linebacker Juwan Mitchell from Texas (10), defensive back Kamal Hadden from Auburn (13), linebacker William Mohan from Michigan (18), offensive lineman Jeremiah Crawford from Butler (Kansas) Community College (53), defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry from Kansas (95) and defensive lineman Caleb Tremblay from Southern California (97).
SEC representatives
The Southeastern Conference will stage its annual football media days event next Monday through Thursday in Hoover, Alabama.
On Wednesday, the league revealed who will represent each of the 14 schools. Accompanying first-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel will be receiver Velus Jones Jr. and cornerback Alontae Taylor.
Quarterback JT Daniels and defensive lineman Jordan Davis will join Georgia coach Kirby Smart, while Alabama's Nick Saban will be joined by receiver John Metchie III and defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis. Auburn's Bryan Harsin and Vanderbilt's Clark Lea will take the podium for the first time as SEC coaches, with Harsin joined by quarterback Bo Nix and linebacker Owen Pappoe.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.