Overview

A two-year starter at small forward for the Blue Demons, Chandler is in the 2007 NBA Draft to stay. He announced that he would shortly sign with an agent, thus ending his collegiate eligibility.

Despite leading the team in scoring and rebounds as a sophomore and in rebounds as a freshman, Chandler clashed with the coaching staff over his role in the team's offense. Originally signed to play power forward, the staff felt that his lanky frame would be better suited for the wing until his body matured. With marginal perimeter skills, his statistics did not come close to matching his prep production.

Many scouts were in agreement that the team's methodical offense was not suited to Chandler's talents. Coach Jerry Wainwright insisted on playing at this slow pace, and he seemed to clash with Chandler in other areas. Chandler was suspended for two games during his freshman year for what Wainwright described as "time management issues."

At Benton Harbor High School, Chandler earned All-American honorable mention from Street & Smith's and was ranked as the 12th-best small forward and No. 30 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com. He added Michigan All-State mention as a sophomore and junior.

The four-time letterwinner averaged 22.4 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior, helping the Tigers to a 19-4 record. He earned Michigan's Hal Schram Mr. Basketball honors in 2005 (winning the award by over 500 points) and was a first-team All-State pick by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. He averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocks per game while shooting .680 from the floor as a senior, leading the team to an unbeaten regular season and the state's top ranking.

Chandler participated in the Roundball Classic at Chicago's United Center, was a McDonald's All-American nominee and earned Parade and EA Sports All-American honors in 2005. He was also named to the ABCD Camp All-Star team.

As a freshman at DePaul in 2005-06, Chandler was a unanimous Big East Conference All-Rookie Team selection, as he ranked 10th in the conference in rebounding and 11th in blocked shots. He was named to the Freshman All-American team by Collegeinsider.com and twice chosen Big East Rookie of the Week. He was the winner of the Wendell Smith Award as the MVP of the first DePaul-Notre Dame game after scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds.

Chandler averaged 10.6 points per game on 105 of 241 shooting (43.6 percent) from the floor, but made just 21.1 percent of his 3-point shots (8 of 38). He averaged 30.2 minutes per game from the small forward slot, leading the team with 181 rebounds (7.2 rpg) and 39 blocked shots. He dished out 24 assists and had 19 steals, but registered 77 fouls with 51 turnovers. He had a season-high 16 rebounds at Dayton, the most by a DePaul freshman since Quentin Richardson had 16 against Saint Louis in 1999.

The 6-foot-7 forward led the Blue Demons in scoring (14.6), rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (47) during the 2006-07 season, in which he earned second-team All-Big East Conference honors and helped DePaul to a 20-win season and the quarterfinals of the NIT. He won the Wendell Smith Award as the MVP of the DePaul-Notre Dame game for the second time in his career (becoming just the fourth player in the 33 games the award has been presented to win it twice) after posting 25 points and 14 rebounds while scoring the eventual game-winning basket on a dunk with 16 seconds to play and then blocking Notre Dame's final shot at the buzzer.

Tabbed as the "Player on the Rise" in the Big East and the 17th-best power forward in the nation by The Sporting News, Chandler shot 45 percent from the field (194 of 431) and scored 497 points. Of his 235 rebounds, 63 were offensive boards. He chipped in with 48 assists, 22 steals and 47 blocked shots. He was charged with 96 fouls and turned the ball over 55 times.

Chandler tied his career-high with 26 points in a NIT win over Hofstra and had 24 points in a win over Wake Forest. He added 23 points vs. Chaminade and 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Marquette. He accounted for 13 rebounds at Syracuse and scored 22 points with three blocks vs. California.

After the season, Chandler declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft and stated that he would not return to the program.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to enter my name in the 2007 NBA Draft. This decision did not come easy for me because of my feelings for DePaul University," Chandler said. "Coach Jerry Wainwright, my family and I have talked about my future and together we all decided this was the best decision for me at this time based upon Personal circumstances.

"Wilson and I sat down at the conclusion of our season and discussed at length what would be the next step in his basketball career. After careful consideration with his family, Wilson has decided to make himself available for the 2007 NBA Draft," Wainwright said. "Wilson has made tremendous progress in his two years at DePaul University as a player, but much more importantly he has made greater progress as a person. I am proud to have been a part of his life the last two years and I, along with our University community, will continue to support his future efforts."

In 59 games at DePaul, Chandler amassed 761 points on 299 of 672 field goals (45.5 percent), including 47 of 155 from 3-point range (30.3 percent), while hitting on 65.9 percent of his free throws (116 of 176). He averaged 7.1 rebounds per game, as 111 of his 416 boards came off the offensive end. He was credited with 72 assists, 41 steals and 173 fouls with 106 turnovers. His 86 blocked shots rank 10th on the school's career-record list.

Scouting Report

Positives: Has a tall, athletic frame with a 7-foot wingspan...Continues to add bulk and muscle tone and will eventually develop into a power forward at the next level...Gets excellent elevation going for the rebound or in attempts to block shots, and is also effective using his leaping skills to dunk over the weak-side defense...Smooth open-court runner who is best served in an up-tempo attack because of his quickness and energy...Glides to the basket, showing enough hang-time to draw fouls on his path to the rim...Shows good shot-creating ability and consistently finishes in transition...Thrives when his guards feed him consistently and has good strength attacking the basket...Dangerous when he pulls up behind the defense and fires from mid-range...Creates mismatches for most small forwards with his length and speed, but needs to be more selective shooting from behind the arc...Very nimble keeping his feet in bounds and is a slippery player when working underneath, showing good body contortion to make the off-balance shot...Has a wicked spin move and is quick enough to get out of the paint and defend vs. perimeter shooters...Times his leaps well to beat the bigger men for the rebound, but also shows a nice touch on putbacks when attacking the offensive glass...Still a work in progress handling the ball, but has good hands to secure the pass...Lacks long-range ability with his jumper, but works well putting the ball in facing the basket...Has a quick initial step and sets his feet well...Moves quickly around the basket without the ball and works hard to maintain position and stay in front on defense.

Negatives: Played out of position on the wing, which exposed his long-range shooting deficiencies...Was out of place in the team's slow, methodical offense...Lost interest at times and spent a considerable amount of time standing around without the ball in his hands...Best when he's the focus of the team's offense...Needs to improve the arc and release when taking perimeter shots...Seems disinterested and sluggish in his play at times and his motor is not always running...Needs to develop better court vision and try to locate the open man quicker, as his shot-selection is questionable at times.

Compares To: GERALD WALLACE, Charlotte. Chandler lacks the perimeter game you want from a small forward, but he's shorter than advertised (6-8) and has good quickness to create mismatches vs. his smaller opponent. The DePaul offense wasn't a fit for his game. Despite his suspension, is a good kid that was just not a right fit for the system the team had in place, but he still tried to work within those parameters. He could eventually fill out his frame, but like Wallace, he might be a good fit for the wing if he can improve his long-range shooting skills.

High School

Lettered four times in basketball at Benton Harbor (Mich.) High School, playing for head coach Ramsey Nichols...Earned All-American honorable mention from Street & Smith's and was an All-American pick by Parade and EA Sports in 2005...Ranked as the 12th-best small forward and 30th-best overall player in the nation by Rivals.com...Added Michigan All-State mention as a sophomore and junior...Earned Michigan's Hal Schram Mr. Basket-ball honors in 2005 (winning the award by over 500 points) and was a first-team All-State pick by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan...Averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocks per game while shooting .680 from the floor as a senior, leading the team to an unbeaten regular season and the state's top ranking during his final campaign...Averaged 22.4 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior, helping the Tigers to a 19-4 record...Participated in the Roundball Classic at Chicago's United Center and was a McDonald's All-American nominee...Named to the ABCD Camp All-Star team.

Personal

Enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences...Son of Wilson Chandler and Marie Thomas...Born 5/10/87...Resides in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

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