Your future, our focus
NWC Sophomore Chandler Provides Intangibles For Trapper Men’s Team
Late in a Jan. 31 home game against Miles Community College, a game the Northwest College men’s basketball team was running away with, redshirt sophomore and super-sub Tyler Chandler was still eating up minutes with four NWC reserves.
Northwest’s Aaron Clark had just missed a shot, which was rebounded by MCC’s Cole Ashby after a battle with Chandler for the ball. Chandler fell on his backside fighting for the board, but after Ashby corralled the ball and attempted to turn up court, Chandler continued fighting from his butt. He eventually landed a hand on the ball and stripped it away from Ashby, and from his backside, fed Clark near the basket, where Clark knocked down a jumper that sent the Trapper bench into a frenzy.
When asked about the play more than a month later, Chandler remembered it, but more importantly, so did his teammates.
“We were trying to get everyone a bucket that game, and there was Tyler, going all out so Aaron could score,” said sophomore and starting guard Nicky Desilien. “Tyler did what the team needed him to do, and that’s the type of player Tyler is.”
“In that game, we wanted everyone to score, and Ty gave everything he had,” sophomore forward-center Chris Boucher added. “He had been playing since the first half, and the game was almost done and he’s still diving on the floor trying to get his teammate to score.”
Since joining the Trapper basketball program as a walk-on for the 2012-13 campaign, which he spent as a redshirt not eligible to play, Chandler, a 20-year-old native of Evanston and graduate of Evanston High School, has built his reputation as the all-out, team-first player he was against Miles. It was that style of play and team-first mentality that earned him a spot on head coach Brian Erickson’s team, and in turn, boosted his status.
After starting the final 15 games last year, Chandler has taken a reduced role as a rotational player this season, giving way to a starting five that has led the Trappers to a 30-4 record and a berth in the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship, which is currently underway.
But Erickson, who, in his first season at the helm found a spot for Chandler, believes the in-state product has had as much of a hand in his team’s 30 victories as any other Trapper.
“Our five starters get a lot of recognition for doing a lot of great things, and they all deserve it,” Erickson said. “But we were talking about it one time of how many games Tyler Chandler has helped us win ... it’s a lot.
“His minutes may be down, but his production is up.”
On the stat sheet, Chandler’s numbers aren’t eye-popping. He averages five points, three rebounds and less than one assist per game. But his worth can’t be measured by numbers, his teammates say.
“Tyler is definitely the guy that will work the hardest,” redshirt sophomore guard Colin May said. “He’s an unexpected player. He comes on the court and you’re like ‘OK, he’s just this short, stocky dude who won’t do much.’
“But he’s just that guy that makes us go.”
‘HIGH-MOTOR GUY’
May, a native of Lovell and former guard for the Lovell High School Bulldogs, got his first glimpse of Chandler on July 21, 2012. Shortly after their high school graduation, May suited up for the North squad while Chandler dressed for the South in the Wyoming All-Star game. May said Chandler’s signature style of play was present that day at Casper College.
“I was just watching him play and thinking ‘Who is this guy? This guy needs to chill out,’” May recalled. “But now I can’t get enough of him playing like that.
“He’s still the high-motor guy who isn’t afraid to dive all over the floor and get physical with the biggest player on the other team.”
Erickson appreciates that from Chandler, and has found minutes for the guard-forward hybrid in all 34 NWC games this season.
“He is what I’d like to say Northwest College basketball is about,” Erickson said. “He fits so well into what we do perfectly.
“He was voted captain by our team for a reason,” the coach said. “And it isn’t because he’s our best player. It’s because he’s a big-time leader and a big time tough guy.”
Chandler, whose height is generously listed at 6-3 on the NWC roster, is seen by his teammates as someone who’s not afraid to drive against and challenge bigger and taller players, often denying shots and lanes to the basket. His tenacity has drawn the respect and admiration of Boucher, a 6-10 starter who is drawing interest from several major Division I programs.
“Ty is just a machine. This year he really pushed me to the limit,” Boucher said. “At our first practice, we went through some drills and he pushed me around, he scored on me ... he made me look bad sometimes.
“He’s not that tall, but he’s so big ... it’s like you can’t move him. It’s like an iceberg ... You go in front of him and you know you’re not winning this fight.”
Boucher suggested that perhaps Chandler plays angry.
“We’re all hungry dogs basically, some of us just want to eat more, and Ty, for the guy he is, he’s eating a lot,” he added.
If Chandler is angry, he doesn’t show it. He’s soft-spoken, respectful and modest about his contributions. He also understands his talents, and believes hard work and commitment can carry you a long way. If anything, he believes he’s proof of that.
“That’s how I’ve always been ... I just like to compete,” Chandler said. “I’m not here because I’m gifted, I’m here because I’ve worked hard and earned it.
“I know at this level people are going to be quicker than me, so I’ll try harder and work harder than those guys.”
Chandler was a soccer player at Evanston High School, and also played tight end and linebacker for the EHS football team. That may explain his fearlessness on the court, but he finds strength elsewhere.
“[Bigger guys] don’t scare me,” he added. “Just like I’ve said before, they’re just people. I have to be mentally stronger ... they might be bigger or stronger, but I can just be smarter.”
Chandler said his aggressiveness on the court has been a style of play expected of him since he began playing ball in elementary school. But over the years, he’s also developed a knack for timely shooting. Aside from his physicality on the court, Chandler is converting 52.9 percent of his 3-pointer attempts this year.
A large portion of those triples have come in crunch time for the Trappers. And more impressively, in games where he attempts two or more treys, he’s succeeding at a rate of 56.8 percent.
“I’ve always been able to shoot a little bit,” Chandler said. “I have to be useful on both ends.
Chandler’s usefulness isn’t in question among his teammates. In fact, Desilien isn’t sure where the Trappers would be without him.
“Ty is our bully, Ty is our energy guy; Ty is our knock-down shooter, Ty is our rebounder ... Ty is everything,” Desilien said. “People don’t realize how important Ty is. He’s a good guy, he’s a good teammate ... he’s unselfish, he doesn’t think about himself — he thinks about winning — and that’s Ty, man.
“Every team needs a Tyler.”