After wrapping up his stellar career at East Side, Corey Chandler will once again stay close to his roots to help turn Rutgers into a winner
Rise Magazine Article
By Ryan Canner-O’Mealy
In the seventh grade, Corey Chandler didn’t look like a future Division I basketball player. Sure, he had some talent, but it appeared as if his hoop dreams would be derailed by bad decisions and even worse grades.
But by the time eighth grade rolled around, his two older brothers, Wayne Terrell and Rashae Chandler, sat him down for a talk that changed his life.
“They made me get focused,” says Corey, now a senior point guard at East Side. “They knew I had potential and they said if I did well in school, I could play ball.”
Wayne and Rashae were right on the money. Four years after that talk, the younger Chandler has signed on to play ball at Rutgers next year and is rated the nation’s No. 77 recruit in the Class of 2007 by RISE. Even more impressive is that he carries a GPA better than 3.0.
It’s been a dramatic turnaround for Chandler, who struggled while growing up in a single-parent household and wasn’t always allowed to play ball in junior high because of poor grades.
“It was rough as a kid,” Chandler says. “I didn’t have the newest sneakers or anything, and I decided to run with the wrong crowd. I was getting bad grades and got suspended in the seventh grade.”
With the help of his mother, Gwendlyn Chandler, as well as his brothers and coaches, Chandler has been a model citizen at East Side. And when the off-court problems got cleaned up, there was no denying his ability.
Chandler, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior who averaged 19 points, six rebounds and four assists per game last year, has always been a natural scorer thanks to his quickness and electric first step. And while he’ll always be more Allen Iverson than Jason Kidd, Chandler has become a solid distributor who will hit the open man when double-teamed. As a result, Chandler has followed in the footsteps of Randy Foye, East Side’s most famous hoop alum. Foye, a rookie with the Minnesota Timberwolves, spent four years starring at Villanova before becoming the No. 7 pick in last year’s NBA Draft.
To Chandler, Foye’s success means so much more than just having an East Side alum in The League. It proves a kid from Newark can stay at a local public high school and still make it to the big time. In an area where boys’ hoops is dominated by three powerhouse private schools — St. Benedict’s Prep, St. Patrick and St. Anthony — Foye showed that you don’t need to go to a school named after a church figure to blow up.
“He opened doors for people at East Side,” Chandler says. “When I saw Randy get drafted, that motivated me to stay in the gym after practice and go hard in everything I do. If I do that, it’ll pay off.”
Chandler’s hard work transformed him into a big-time Division I prospect and helped him become the second public school star from Newark to blow up nationally after Missouri freshman Keon Lawrence starred at Weequahic last season.
“For the city of Newark, it means a lot,” says East Side assistant coach Troy Long. “In the last two years, we’ve had two of the better players with Keon Lawrence and Corey. It shows that you can be successful staying home and still get that education by staying home.”
Foye getting drafted hammered that notion home for Chandler. “The day Randy got drafted, Corey was going crazy,” Long says. “We had Randy Foye Day here this year where we retired his number. Just seeing him play is an inspiration for Corey to push himself to the limit.”
Foye’s influence on Chandler extended to the college recruiting process. Chandler’s decision to commit to Rutgers was largely based on his relationship with Scarlet Knights coach Fred Hill, who had recruited Foye as an assistant at Villanova.
“I really believe in what coach Hill is doing,” Chandler says. “I want people to say that Rutgers made a move in 2007-08, and Corey Chandler was a part of it.” Chandler went to several Rutgers football games this past fall and saw the electric atmosphere up close during a season in which the Scarlet Knights won their first-ever bowl game. He thinks the Rutgers basketball team can have a similar run, which is why Chandler is confident he made the right decision even though the trend has been for the Garden State’s top players to leave home for college.
If anyone has the right mentality to succeed at Rutgers, it’s Chandler. He loves it when people doubt him or when other players talk trash.
“When a kid challenges him, that’s the wrong thing to do,” says Long with the laugh of a man who’s seen Chandler school players foolish enough to question his game.
At last fall’s Eddie Griffin Challenge, an all-star event pitting the best of Jersey against the best of Philly, two opposing players made the mistake of getting in Chandler’s face during the second half of a close game.
First, it was Pitt-bound guard Bradley Wanamaker. Chandler responded by scoring two straight baskets on Wanamaker, forcing Philly to switch defenders to Syracuse-bound guard Scoop Jardine. And when Jardine continued talking trash, Chandler was all business even though the two are buddies.
Chandler ended up scoring 17 points in a row, finishing with 21 in the fourth quarter and 29 overall to cop MVP honors in a 94-87 Jersey win. In a game that featured more than 10 future Division I players, Chandler made his point and established himself as one of the best.
“That really motivates me to just do everything better,” Chandler says. “I don’t have to talk, I just play.”
Chandler might not talk, but he certainly listens. Just ask his brothers, who gave him the talk that changed everything.
Rise Magazine Article
By Ryan Canner-O’Mealy
In the seventh grade, Corey Chandler didn’t look like a future Division I basketball player. Sure, he had some talent, but it appeared as if his hoop dreams would be derailed by bad decisions and even worse grades.
But by the time eighth grade rolled around, his two older brothers, Wayne Terrell and Rashae Chandler, sat him down for a talk that changed his life.
“They made me get focused,” says Corey, now a senior point guard at East Side. “They knew I had potential and they said if I did well in school, I could play ball.”
Wayne and Rashae were right on the money. Four years after that talk, the younger Chandler has signed on to play ball at Rutgers next year and is rated the nation’s No. 77 recruit in the Class of 2007 by RISE. Even more impressive is that he carries a GPA better than 3.0.
It’s been a dramatic turnaround for Chandler, who struggled while growing up in a single-parent household and wasn’t always allowed to play ball in junior high because of poor grades.
“It was rough as a kid,” Chandler says. “I didn’t have the newest sneakers or anything, and I decided to run with the wrong crowd. I was getting bad grades and got suspended in the seventh grade.”
With the help of his mother, Gwendlyn Chandler, as well as his brothers and coaches, Chandler has been a model citizen at East Side. And when the off-court problems got cleaned up, there was no denying his ability.
Chandler, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior who averaged 19 points, six rebounds and four assists per game last year, has always been a natural scorer thanks to his quickness and electric first step. And while he’ll always be more Allen Iverson than Jason Kidd, Chandler has become a solid distributor who will hit the open man when double-teamed. As a result, Chandler has followed in the footsteps of Randy Foye, East Side’s most famous hoop alum. Foye, a rookie with the Minnesota Timberwolves, spent four years starring at Villanova before becoming the No. 7 pick in last year’s NBA Draft.
To Chandler, Foye’s success means so much more than just having an East Side alum in The League. It proves a kid from Newark can stay at a local public high school and still make it to the big time. In an area where boys’ hoops is dominated by three powerhouse private schools — St. Benedict’s Prep, St. Patrick and St. Anthony — Foye showed that you don’t need to go to a school named after a church figure to blow up.
“He opened doors for people at East Side,” Chandler says. “When I saw Randy get drafted, that motivated me to stay in the gym after practice and go hard in everything I do. If I do that, it’ll pay off.”
Chandler’s hard work transformed him into a big-time Division I prospect and helped him become the second public school star from Newark to blow up nationally after Missouri freshman Keon Lawrence starred at Weequahic last season.
“For the city of Newark, it means a lot,” says East Side assistant coach Troy Long. “In the last two years, we’ve had two of the better players with Keon Lawrence and Corey. It shows that you can be successful staying home and still get that education by staying home.”
Foye getting drafted hammered that notion home for Chandler. “The day Randy got drafted, Corey was going crazy,” Long says. “We had Randy Foye Day here this year where we retired his number. Just seeing him play is an inspiration for Corey to push himself to the limit.”
Foye’s influence on Chandler extended to the college recruiting process. Chandler’s decision to commit to Rutgers was largely based on his relationship with Scarlet Knights coach Fred Hill, who had recruited Foye as an assistant at Villanova.
“I really believe in what coach Hill is doing,” Chandler says. “I want people to say that Rutgers made a move in 2007-08, and Corey Chandler was a part of it.” Chandler went to several Rutgers football games this past fall and saw the electric atmosphere up close during a season in which the Scarlet Knights won their first-ever bowl game. He thinks the Rutgers basketball team can have a similar run, which is why Chandler is confident he made the right decision even though the trend has been for the Garden State’s top players to leave home for college.
If anyone has the right mentality to succeed at Rutgers, it’s Chandler. He loves it when people doubt him or when other players talk trash.
“When a kid challenges him, that’s the wrong thing to do,” says Long with the laugh of a man who’s seen Chandler school players foolish enough to question his game.
At last fall’s Eddie Griffin Challenge, an all-star event pitting the best of Jersey against the best of Philly, two opposing players made the mistake of getting in Chandler’s face during the second half of a close game.
First, it was Pitt-bound guard Bradley Wanamaker. Chandler responded by scoring two straight baskets on Wanamaker, forcing Philly to switch defenders to Syracuse-bound guard Scoop Jardine. And when Jardine continued talking trash, Chandler was all business even though the two are buddies.
Chandler ended up scoring 17 points in a row, finishing with 21 in the fourth quarter and 29 overall to cop MVP honors in a 94-87 Jersey win. In a game that featured more than 10 future Division I players, Chandler made his point and established himself as one of the best.
“That really motivates me to just do everything better,” Chandler says. “I don’t have to talk, I just play.”
Chandler might not talk, but he certainly listens. Just ask his brothers, who gave him the talk that changed everything.
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