A look back at legends series: Willie Chandler

With another season of MU basketball set to begin in a few weeks, it's fitting to look back on a legend from Cougar Basketball history.

Willie Chandler's 1999-2003 MU career remains one of the most illustrious and impressive Division III careers of all time.

Walking by the Hall of Fame you may notice his plaque, which hosts a picture of him soaring to the rim in his #33 jersey, not to be denied two of his 2,898 career points - a second ever in Division III history.

Chandler was inducted into the Hall of Fame with four others in the 2009 induction class, along with his teammate Jason Perry.

"I was excited when I found out," he said. "MU has done a lot for me, they took me in when I was struggling, and I'll appreciate it until the day I die."

The 6'4" shooting guard could do it all. He could post up smaller guards, he could drive on bigger forwards, and he was an assassin from behind the three point arc. Defensively he could block shots, snag rebounds, and match up on the outside with the other teams' quickest player.

Chandler's skills were honed in the city of Scranton, where he graduated from Scranton High School and was looking to continue his basketball career.

Originally Chandler went to East Stroudsburg University, but missed home.

"When I visited Misericordia, I fell in love," Chandler saId. "Coach Dave Martin took me in, and it was just a really good fit. He's like a second father to me."

Once a Cougar, Chandler wasted no time in leaving his mark, averaging 26.1 points during his freshman campaign. He won team MVP and player of the year in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference.

Unfortunately, the Cougars lost in the conference championship that year, failing to make the NCAA tournament.

That would be a recurring theme for Chandler, who never won a PAC championship despite being a part of the best scoring duo to ever play Division III basketball. He and Perry combined for an astronomical 4,523 points over their careers.

Chandler set nine school records and five single game records. He led the nation in scoring twice, was a three time All-American, four time PAC player of the year, and four time Wendy's Misericordia Athlete of the Year.

"All the individual stats are nice, but I'd trade them all for one championship," said Chandler. "I'm disappointed I never won at MU."

Following MU, he pursued a professional basketball career, and the subsequent journey took him all over the globe.

He started playing for the Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs of the United States Basketball League (USBL) and was coached by former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Darryl Dawkins.

"It was exciting for me because I was playing with guys like Jamario Moon (currently of the Los Angeles Clippers) and Kareem Reid, guys who were very close to the NBA," Chandler said. "It was great experience."

He then spent time playing for teams overseas in Argentina and Portugal, and a team in Portugal offered him a contract, which he refused.

"Playing in Portugal was the best decision I made. If I had taken the contract I'd still be playing today," said Chandler. "It's lonely over there, though."

When he returned to the U.S., he continued striving for his dream of playing in the NBA, attempting to get noticed by playing in the smaller Continental Basketball Association (CBA), which sent him all over the country to places like North Dakota and Buffalo, New York.

"There are a lot of politics when you come from a small Division III school like Misericordia," Chandler said. "You have to compete with guys who played Division I from the ACC and conferences like that. People don't give much of a chance to a guy from a school they never heard of."

But just making it on CBA team rosters is a testament to Chandler's hard work and desire to be great.

"I had to earn the respect I got, and I made a lot of friends along my journey," he said.

That journey came full circle when he got a call from current MU Men's basketball head coach Trevor Woodruff, when he was asked to join the coaching staff as an assistant.

"I couldn't turn it down," Chandler said. "I love MU, and I love being around basketball and helping kids."

He is entering his third season as an assistant coach, and is hoping to finally win a championship - this time in a suit and tie on the sidelines.

"People can break my records, but you can't take away a championship," he said.