Tennessee freshman Kennedy Chandler was named Monday among the 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which recognizes college basketball's top point guard.
Chandler is the only freshman among the finalists, and the recognition comes at a time when the five-star talent continues to experience growing pains. The 6-foot, 171-pounder from Memphis had no assists and three turnovers during Saturday night's 52-51 loss at Texas, though he did collect four steals.
In the final 6.2 seconds of the game, Chandler was on the bench when backup point guard Zakai Zeigler raced the ball up the floor before finding an open Josiah-Jordan James, who missed a game-winning shot from 3-point range.
"We all have confidence in Kennedy, and he has learned so much," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Monday in a news conference. "When you think about it, he's playing the hardest position on the floor, and he's getting a lot of great shots from a lot of different people. I've said from day one that every game is a different game, so he's learning how to make those adjustments, learning how to continue to play through fatigue and all that."
Chandler is the second-leading scorer for the No. 22 Volunteers, averaging 13.2 points a game, and his 4.7 assists per contest leads the team. He also has racked up 43 steals, averaging 2.3 a game to rank 15th nationally and second among all Division I freshmen.
In an 86-44 whipping of Presbyterian on Nov. 30, Chandler tied the program's single-game record with seven steals.
"I think that he has definitely gotten much better with being alert defensively, and it's not just the steals," Barnes said. "He does a great job getting his hands on balls and steals, but it's also just the overall understanding of the details of what we're trying to do. He's trying. He really is trying, and I expect to see him continue to improve."
Tennessee (14-6, 5-3 SEC) is back at home Tuesday night against Texas A&M (15-6, 4-4), which is coming off a 74-63 home loss to South Carolina. The Aggies have won four of their last five trips to Thompson-Boling Arena, including a 63-58 triumph in 2020.
"They're a multiple defensive team that plays really hard and plays with a lot of emotion," Barnes said. "They're going to change their defenses, and we're going to have to take care of the basketball."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.