Texas Tech basketball: 4-Star 2021 PG Kennedy Chandler gets offer

The Texas Tech basketball program has extended a scholarship offer to 2021 point guard Kennedy Chandler.

Earlier this week, Kennedy Chandler, a point guard in the class of 2021 reported that he had received a scholarship offer from the Texas Tech basketball program. Ranked the No. 3 point guard in the nation for his class and the No. 26 player in the country by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, the 4-star prospect holds offers from 16 Power 5 programs including Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Florida State, and Arkansas.

At 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, the Memphis, Tennessee native is also drawing interest from Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers. And given Memphis’ recent success in landing the top talent in their own back yard, it would stand to figure that the Tigers would be the early favorite in this race.

Tech knows first hand how difficult it can be to pull highly-ranked players out of of the Home of the Blues after being shunned by 2019 4-star PG Damion Baugh, who took an official visit to Lubbock only to stay home and play for Hardaway, who has landed the nation’s top recruiting class in 2019. But that is not going to prevent Chris Beard from trying to bring Chandler to the South Plains.

https://twitter.com/KChandler_1/status/1146450289681227776

It’s easy to see why so many top programs, including Texas Tech, have thrown their hat in the ring for Chandler. As a sophomore, he averaged 19.5 points, four rebounds, 3.6 steals and three assists per game earning second-team Max Prep Sophomore All-American honors.

Back in April, he impressed at The Warmup high school basketball tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Following that event, Brian Snow of 247Sports had the following scouting report:

"“[Chandler] showed an ability to run a team, a big-time burst getting to the rim, and a solid feel for the game. While he isn’t the biggest player, Chandler can be a pest on defense, and also plays with a good pace and a good motor. Given his location and his talent level, odds are he will be one of the most heavily recruited point guards in the country in the entire class.”"

Many believed that the lack of a true playmaking point guard was the only missing element from the 2019 Texas Tech basketball team. Even Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said as much when discussing Jarrett Culver’s 25 point-performance against the Blue Devils last December.

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Indeed, Culver had to assume quite a bit of the ballhandling and point guard duties last year, despite being a shooting guard/small forward. In addition to leading Tech in scoring and rebounds, Culver also led the team in assists with 3.7 per game, which was 0.5 more per game than Tech’s All-American PG Keenan Evans averaged in 2017-18.

In the 2019 class, Chris Beard brought guard Chris Clarke to Lubbock as a grad transfer who missed last season at Virginia Tech after being suspended. Clarke is not a typical point guard but he will spend quite a bit of time with the ball in his hands and the Red Raiders will likely look to him to create opportunities for himself and his teammates off the dribble.

Additionally, Beard has added 3-star 2019 point guard signee Clarence Nadolny, the No. 11 player in Pennsylvania. Raw and still developing as a player, it might be a bit early to expect the promising 6-foot-3 youngster from playing a significant role for the Red Raiders as a true freshman and given the depth already on the roster, it would not be a shock to see the native of France redshirt this year.

Though Beard’s motion offense requires each player on the court to be able to handle the basketball and hit open teammates. However, having a true point guard seems to be a priority for Beard as it is always beneficial to have a strong point guard capable of getting his team into the right sets and handling the ball, especially in critical moments. Think of what Ty Jerome meant to Virginia last year and it is easy to see how important the point guard position remains in the modern era of college hoops despite the fact that the game has moved away from traditional set positions.

Therefore, it is no surprise to see Beard targeting a number of top PGs in the country. In the class of 2020, he’s offered three point guards, with 4-star Hassan Diarra from Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut being the top-rated. Chandler joins Jalen Murray, an unranked prospect from the Bronx, NY as 2021 point guards that already hold offers from the Red Raiders and that number should increase as the coaching staff identifies more targets.

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Of course, there is still a long way to go until the class of 2021 puts pen to paper. But even a year-and-a-half out, Chris Beard is working hard to keep the Texas Tech basketball program among the elite in the nation for years to come.

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