Looking back, Kennedy Chandler's breakout game with Tennessee may have done more harm than good.
Fortunately for the No. 17 Volunteers, the five-star freshman point guard is now assembling complete performances compared to his 27-point effort in the 69-54 victory at Colorado back on Dec. 4. In Tuesday night's 80-61 thrashing of Missouri in Columbia, the 6-foot, 171-pounder from Memphis racked up 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and also compiled eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while committing no turnovers.
"I've told him before that I thought in some ways the Colorado game was a curse because it looked so easy for him early in the year," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on a Zoom call after the Vols improved to 20-7 overall and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference play. "I think he went out thinking every game was going to be like that, and he really struggled at times after that game. He thought each game was going to be a repeat of defenses - he looked over at me tonight and said, 'Hey Coach, they're switching 1 through 4.'
"I looked at him and said, 'Well, you know what to do. Go take advantage of it.' He's talking more now, and he's just matured so much in understanding that there is so much more to the game than he had thought."
Chandler made 13 of 20 shots against the Buffaloes, but the rest of his stat line included a more modest three rebounds, two assists and a steal with two turnovers. In his next three games against Power Five opponents that followed the Colorado triumph, Chandler had nine points and five turnovers against Texas Tech, netted eight points on just 2-of-14 shooting against Arizona and posted six points and five turnovers against Ole Miss.
His eight rebounds Tuesday night marked a season-high, and in the past three games against Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri, Chandler has tallied 14 assists against only two turnovers in 101 minutes.
"I just think it's been my overall growth," Chandler said. "Even though that was my highest-scoring game, from Colorado to now, I think I'm being more productive. I don't take every game for granted just because I had a great game. I've continued to grow. I'm taking care of the ball - I didn't have any turnovers tonight - so I'm taking care of the ball and playing harder, honestly.
"I learned from Colorado that each game is not going to be the same and that I won't be able to do that in my next game."
Chandler is averaging 13.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per contest, with his past three outings improving his assists-to-turnovers to 125 against 66. His average of 2.27 steals per game leads the SEC and ranks 14th nationally, with the biggest drawback being his 63.6% success rate at the foul line, which pales to the clips of fellow Vols guards Zakai Zeigler (87.5%), Josiah-Jordan James (79.1%) and Santiago Vescovi (73.9%).
Of course, if Chandler keeps assembling such well-rounded performances, Tennessee games may not be coming down to free throws.
"He had always played with the ball in his hand, and when he didn't have it he stood," Barnes said. "Defensively, he's learning now how to really play. He's almost got a 6-7 wingspan, and he's learning how to use that. He's never had to deal with different ball screen coverages, and we have a package we go through. He's worked hard on that.
"He's learned so much in how to move without the ball. He made some great cuts tonight, and he's really a lethal player when he does that. The easiest thing to guard is a guard who keeps it all the time, and he's just a different player now than he was back in December. I think it's a night-and-day difference."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.