Wilson Chandler - Summer Success
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Try to imagine the situation when a restaurant manager hires a... let's say firefighter to be his new cook. Even though the firefighter will know a lot about heat and flames and all that stuff, but about cooking?! I would say he won't make the best steak around. All good cooks among firefighter nation might excuse me. But the point is, a firefighter usually won't do well in kitchen because he isn't put in a situation to succeed. Instead he will most likely fail.
Wilson Chandler, the New York Knicks 2007 first round draft choice (23rd overall), was put into similar circumstances during his college career. Ok, maybe not as drastic like if he would have been a gymnist playing basketball, but he still wasn't put in the best situation for him to succeed.
[1] For the DePaul Blue Demons, the 20 year old mostly played the power forward position despite being projected as a small forward on the next level. Not only did he play out of position most of the time, DePaul also played a style not exactly fitting Chandler's strengths. Running in a slow, mechanical Princeton offense, the athletic and fast Chandler (6-8, 230) often didn't really fit in. While Chandler's play in his college career was far from being failure, he still averaged 14.6 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game in his sophomore year, he still didn't maximize his obvious potential. All you needed to do was to look at some mock drafts and the name Wilson Chandler required quite a long search.
The New York Knicks and their GM/coach Isiah Thomas obviously saw something in the Benton Harbor native. Their excellent connections to DePaul University definitely helped the mission of making Wilson Chandler a surprising first round pick. Assistant coach Mark Aguirre is a legend at DePaul and Knicks guard Quentin Richardson also calls the Big East school his alma mater. Thomas feels very confident about his newest draftee: "It's safe to say we had very good knowledge of the player that we were drafting. He was a guy that we targeted and wanted."
After five summer league games in Las Vegas the Knicks faithful clearly got a little glimpse at what Thomas and his coaches saw in the young forward. On a team that went undefeated in summer competition, Chandler started all five contests and averaged 13.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He shot over 50% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. But the numbers clearly don't match the excellence Chandler displayed during his time in Vegas. After being thought of as a bit raw and shaky, he showed great confidence in his jumper and his defensive prowess.
Jumper?
Exactly. His outside shot caught my eye from the first time I watched him. It looks a lot better than it did in college. Chandler has a very smooth release and good elevation on his shot. He showed range beyond the NBA three point line and connected off the dribble and on catch and shoot situations. You can't mention it often enough, outside shooting is an extremely important fundamental for a basketball player. With this asset, Chandler will have it much easier to find a spot next to New York's inside powers Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. Not only did Chandler impress with his jumper, he also proved how good of an athlete he really is. Jaw dropping dunks, quickness to the ball and a few monster rejections... call Wilson Chandler! He showed great movement off the ball. His defense looked extremely good too. He has great size, can hold his own in the paint and has quick feet on the perimeter. He used his length and athletisism numerous times to challenge outside shots and contest jumpers.
The aspect that needs the most development with Chandler is his ballhandling. It's solid right now yet he definitely favors his right hand. At times he tends to dribble a bit too high. Critics might say that he isn't doing enough with his god given talent and it's true that Chandler never played out of control or was pushing anything in Vegas. He let the game come to him, which can be interpreted as being lazy or passive, but I think from a 20 year old this is a very positive sighting. Today players are often getting caught in between the hype and their so called stardom. Chandler realized that he had to be a part of the team and he filled that role phenomenally.
Chandler, a humble and almost shy personality, clearly enjoyed his time in Vegas: "It was a great time. Las Vegas is a nice city. In the beginning I was very excited and nervous but I had great teammates. We played very well together, up and down the court, we did a good job on defense and we executed well. It was a lot of fun."
[2] Of course the summer league isn't the NBA. Yet you can't overlook the things a player brings to the table and how he handles himself in game situations. Chandler didn't dissapoint in either category. The humble and sometimes shy kid from Michigan never looked overwhelmed at all. This poise and this court awareness which can ultimatively lead to confidence is a huge asset for a young player. It's funny to see Chandler performing next to highly touted prospects from bigger schools and not look a bit worse than these guys. Everybody can imagine the names but this draft might be an example one day of how a school or the system you play in during your college years can really influence your draft stock.
Now as we all know, the Knicks found a new way of mismanaging by now having 16 guarenteed contracts on the roster and even having 17 players to choose their final roster for the next season. You can already hear rumors about Chandler and fellow rookie Demetris Nichols going to Europe for a season instead of just cutting well know all stars like Jerome James or Dan "I averaged 3 points per game last year" Dickau. Wilson Chandler is tomorrow, those guys were yesterday. Chandler clearly made a name for himself in Vegas and even though it was "just" summer league, he displayed skills the Knicks clearly need on the court.
Next season!
"I'm very happy right now. We'll see what happens. I'm happy to play in a great city, for a great team and a great coach", describes Chandler. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes and whatever people ask me to do. I will do my best and try to continue to get better."
I just hope the Knicks don't ask him to cook anything or be a ballboy or whatever. Just let this kid play basketball and grow with the other youngsters...
... and we will soon get a taste of how good a player Wilson Chandler is!
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