Boo hoo. As I said in the blog's early team-by-team preview, imagining Corey Chandler will become a superstar will leave you with unfulfilled fantasies.
Adam Zagoria, the Newark Star Ledger, and the Courier Journal all report that Corey Chandler's time with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights basketball team is over.
From the Courier Journal:
The mercurial 6-foot-2 guard, who was supposed to be the cornerstone recruit for Fred Hill’s Scarlet Knights, was dismissed from the program on Tuesday for violating team rules.
Sources close to the program said multiple missteps by Chandler led to the move.
Beset by disciplinary problems as a freshman and sophomore, Chandler appeared poised to transfer in March but changed his mind. Undoubtedly talented, with Big East-quality explosiveness, he had trouble finding a role on the court and struggled to take care of the basketball. His departure leaves the Scarlet Knights thinner and less talented at guard, but questions lingered as to where Chandler would play after junior college point guard James Beatty committed in July.
Well, that clears up the playing time issue at Rutgers, where JUCO James Beatty will likely start at the point guard and Mike Rosario will hold down the 2-guard position, with Mike Coburn backing up possibly both spots. Obviously Chandler wasn't going to be happy with even less time; he was a heralded recruit when he signed with Fred Hill's team.
But the efficiency numbers he has posted... again, unfulfilled fantasies.
Really, the Scarlet Knights might be better off without him. Last year he shot 26% on his three-pointers, and 36% on his shots inside the arc. For a solid athlete, that number inside screams "bad shot selection," and watching him on television, he sometimes just jacked up shots.
He took 28% of the team's shots while he was on the floor, with an effective field goal percentage (field goal percentage weighted for three pointers) of 37.3%. On the positive side, Chandler dished out some assists, and stole the ball once a game... but he also gave the ball away on more than 26% of his possessions.
There is probably a good shooter in there, as he shot 72% from the free throw line. But he didn't get to the line enough. A player is more than his shooting. But when a baller shoots that much, that kind of inefficiency further buries his or her team. Perhaps a change of scenery and coaching will help him; but as it stands, maybe the Rutgers staff should wipe the sweat from their brow and work in Pat Jackson and the walk-on Mike Kuhn at guard.