pic credit: Korniza KB Peja

Every once in a while I get an email or whatsApp message from a player where I can exsert a smile and feel really good for a moment. You know that getting that feeling of thankfulness. I interview guys almost on a daily basis since 20 years and for me it has really become as automatic as Steph Curry draining a three pointer, Lionel Messi scoring another goal or Eddie Murphy telling a joke. I know in a way that most guy´s appreciate the opportunity to get an interview from me and then they can go wild and tell me their basketball life story. No story is the same. That is what really fascinates me most about being able to have this special relationship with ballers overseas. Ok so every once in a while I interview a current NBA player like I did recently with Haywood Highsmith who reached the NBA final with the Miami Heat, but mostly I stick to the guys overseas if it´s that Euroleague player or that guy grinding in the Regionalliga in some small town somewhere in the woods 100 kilometers from the next big city. Most guys say thank you, but every once in a while, I get a little bit more than just thank you. That happened last week, when I decided to interview a player who like so many others in Europe are trying to continue to climb the basketball ladder to higher leagues and more dough. The player that I´m talking about is Jay Jay Chandler III (193-G-1998, college: USA) a guy who has to wake up now every morning in Kosovo while his boyhood friend De´Aaron Fox is earning millions in the NBA. He is a player that actually didn´t start in JUCO, but began and finished in the NCAA with Texas A&M and then strung on an extra season at the University of South Alabama. It is often the guys that played in JUCO that are most thankful, but every now and then you get that player who actually played at a higher level appreciates being noticed. The guard played a strong rookie season in the rich and beautiful country Switzerland and this season is seeing another part of Europe in Kosvo which is a lot different than the seemingly care free life in and around the Swiss Alpes. He made my day the other day with basically one sentence which often can leave that long impression which is something not everyone is able to do in life. “I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to interview me and being able to recognize myself and my basketball ability. Hope we are able to do more of these”, stated Jay Jay Chandler III. The words made me so happy that I wrote him back with these words. Thanks for your effort and your kind words. Believe me I have interviewed more than 1800 players in my career and seldom do I get that kind of thankfulness that you wrote me. I´m very pleased that you enjoyed doing it”. I can say now that it would be a massive pleasure to talk basketball with him again.

Jay Jay Chandler III who lists Jayson Tatum and his AAU teammates Carsen Edwards and De´Aaron Fox as being his toughest opponents so far in his career is a 26 year old 193cm guard from Katy, Texas a city that brought the world country singer Clint Black, actress Renee Zellweger and basketball players DeÁaron Fox and Josh Nebo who was a NCAA teammate with Chandler. Even if Katy only has a population of 24,000, everybody knows everybody at least in basketball circles. “Growing up we didn´t live too far away from each other and despite them being at a different high school than I, we still spent a lot of time in the gym over the summers and high school days. Once Nebo and I got to college, our friendship continued until today and we still talk. I have been playing with De´Aaron Fox since our early AAU days and once we got to the EYBL level we were on the Houston Hoops team along with Robert Williams, Jarred Vanderbilt and Carson Edwards. They are still my boys today and we still chop it up throughout the course of our seasons now”, stressed Jay Jay Chandler III. But the three did attend different high schools as Fox and Nebo went to Cypress Lakes high school and Chandler went to Cinco high school. He then attended Texas A&M from 2017-2021 amassing a total of 110 NCAA games. He only averaged 3,6ppg, but got the thrill of his life reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 as a freshman. The school began beating Providence and lost to Michigan, but in between upset North Carolina 86-65 playing 15 minutes and registering 3/3/2 stats. It is a moment he will never forget. “Playing in the Staples center and seeing all the celebrities courtside and being able to play on the court with a lot of really good players. But one thing that I’ll always remember was looking up and seeing Kobe’s retired jersey hanging in the rafters along with all the other great Laker players. That just made me take the game even more seriously”, remembered Jay Jay Chandler III. In his freshman season he also had the opportunity to meet a young man by the name of Robert Williams who has given so much joy to the Boston Celtics and despite being diagnosed with PAES has had a great pro career. “Rob and I played AAU together in the EYBL with the Houston Hoops where we were able to build a bond and it just continued whenever I got to Texas A&M. Rob’s my guy, like a big brother to me. Playing with him is something every guard dreams off. Having someone at the rim that’s going to block anything that comes his way on the defensive end and on the offensive end you could throw a lob to the sky and somehow Rob was coming down with a dunk”, smiled Jay Jay Chandler III who will never forget his 1-1 battles in practice with Quenton Jackson.

Jay Jay Chandler and DeÁaron Fox in AAU

The talented guard who names Savion Flagg, De’Aaron Fox, Robert Williams, Admon Gilder, Josh Nebo, Dj Hogg, Charles Manning, Tj Starks, and Wendell Mitchell as his best teammates of all-time averaged 8,0ppg twice in his sophomore and senior seasons and scored 18 points in his second season against power house Kentucky in a loss but held his own against many future NBA players like Tyler Herro, Immanuel Quickly and PJ Washington. A game like that still keeps his NBA dream alive today. “Just from the simple fact I have been playing against or with many guys that are in the NBA. It’s my dream to play with the best of the best”, warned Jay Chandler. A game of a player can develop nicely under one head coach, but sometimes a player has the luxury of having more than one like he did learning from Bill Kennedy and Buzz Williams. “They both have 2 different coaching styles but both good coaches. BK helped me to keep my confidence up and helped me get the understanding of the game at the college level while also helping me to understand my strong points. Buzz helped me to understand that if I want to be great, I’m going to have to work harder for it everyday and to never take the easy road but to look the challenge in the eye and attack it before it attacks you”, commented Jay Jay Chandler III. He had other great games there against Washington and LSU netting 21 points a piece. He added a 5th season in the NCAA with the University of South Alabama (NCAA) averaging 15.3ppg, 3.3rpg, 2.6apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 49.8%, 3PT: 35.1%, FT: 77.1%. He averaged 29 minutes per game, 6 more than the most he got at Alabama and all in all, the development continued well under Richie Riley. “Coach Riley helped me develop by helping me understand when to get to my spots on the court that I flourish best at and just giving me the ability to showcase my talent for those that might have had doubt about my skill level. So my last year at South Alabama I was on a mission to prove myself and the coaching staff stayed on me and helped me do that”, expressed Jay Jay Chandler III. He scored in double figures in 25 of 29 games. He scored 20 points or more 9 times and his highest was 26 points against Georgia State and Troy. It was no surprise which of these 2 games was most memorable. “Troy was South Alabama’s rival so the atmosphere in the gym was crazy. You could feel the tension from both teams and the fans, days before the game, so I had to show up for them”, added Jay Jay Chandler III.

The Texas native who lists Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Houston James Harden, himself, and Allen Iverson on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore played his rookie season with BBC Monthey (Switzerland-SBL) averaging 16.9ppg, 5.7rpg, 3.2apg, Steals-5 (1.7spg), FGP: 52.5%, 3PT: 25.8%, FT: 76.5%. There aren´t many guys from Katy, Texas that can say they lived in the breathtaking country of Switzerland, so it was only logical that he wasn´t just around the corner when he saw the scenery. “I knew I was a long way from home when I landed in Geneva and saw those mountains. I’m from Houston Texas and have never seen mountains like that, to be honest. So just coming to the realization that this is a grind and that I have to stay focused to reach my goals and stay on myself to get better everyday while I was out there”, remembered Jay Jay Chandler III. He also got his first taste of the post season overseas and had to swallow a bitter pill getting swept by Fribourg despite averaging 15/5/3 in the 3 game series. “Fribourg was a good team. They had many players that have been in that position before, in their career. And playing them multiple times throughout the season helped them get the feel with my team’s strong and weak points”, said Jay Jay Chandler III. He scored in double figures in 27 of 33 games and scored 20 points or more 12 times including exploding for 32 points against Geneva. Long time overseas veteran Kevin Langford was his teammate and the perfect guy to show him the ropes. “I talked to Kev quite a bit especially with us both being from Texas, it helped us connect. He also would help me on how to play this type defense and using him to get each other to our comfortable spots on the floor”, added Jay Jay Chandler III.

Jay Jay Chandler and Jarred Vanderbilt

The 193cm guard who lists his pops as his GOAT is playing his second pro season in Kosovo with KB Peja in the Kosovo-Superliga). Despite Kosovo not being a rich country like Switzerland, his experience hasn´t been a culture shock, but the league is different to what he saw as a rookie in the mountains. ”It is definitely different than Switzerland. Peja has been treating me well. The community and fans are really engaged with the basketball scene and they show crazy love. The main difference I’ve learned from both leagues is the physical level. Here in Kosovo the refs allow you to be a little more physical, in a way. So just playing stronger and more physically is something I’ve been working on more since arriving. I’m still working on every other skill to help maximize my game and ability to increase overall”, stated Jay Jay Chandler III. He is on a team that has many Americans and even a veteran with Malcolm Armstead, it must still feel like college again? “We all came from different types of backgrounds on the college level so connecting with them on and off the court has allowed us to build a bond and to stay on each other everyday, in practice, to make each other better. I probably have bonded with Malcolm the most. Just learning from him and him helping me with how to view some aspects of the game has been helping me the most. His experience and leadership role he has on this team and me especially, has helped me a lot. He’s always talking to me on how to improve my play and staying on me to stay focused to reach my dreams in this game, we both love”, stressed Jay Jay Chandler III. The club has many offensive weapons but also wants to focus on defense and have a high energy level from every player. The American currently is averaging 25,7ppg, 3,7rpg and 2,7apg while shooting out the lights at 54%. Last weekend he had his break out game exploding for 39 points in a win against Trepca. Despite his potent play so far, he is keeping an eye on a certain aspect. “Important for me is working on my pace and knowing when to attack and distribute to keep the defense on their toes. Also not taking plays off offensively and defensively. This is something that I’ve been working on with my coaches”, commented Jay Jay Chandler III.

The explosive scorer who didn´t see the sequel to the Classic movie Coming To America because of dismal reviews will play his first pro game in Germany this week in Chemnitz to tip off the Fiba Europe Cup season. Despite playing in Switzerland last season, he never made to Germany, but had been there before. “I know basketball in Germany is really competitive and a lot of great players have come through Germany and reached high levels in this profession. I wasn’t able to visit Germany my rookie year but I was able to play my first college game in Germany and was able to see the area”, remembers Jay Jay Chandler III. So what kind of player will fans see in Chemnitz this week. He is a guy that tries to take bits and pieces from many players and has heard comparisons to guys like De’Aaron Fox, Ja Morant, Manu Ginobili and James Harden. Even if he has released his scoring animal in Kosovo, he is a guy that could be called a versatile player who was close to a triple double against the Starwings in Switzerland last season. “I like to go out each game and play a complete game to help do whatever my team needs to get the win. From scoring to grabbing rebounds and facilitating to my teammate for open shots, I’m going to do it. And on the defensive side guarding the other teams best players to make the game tougher for them, is something I always look forward to”, commented Jay Jay Chandler III. He is also very focused on becoming a better three point shooter and being feared as a defender. “I need to be selective on which 3s to take and continuing to have confidence in the work I put in working on them in practice and translating it to the games. I can still get better on the defensive side of course. But continuing on being a pest for my opponent and not letting them get anything easy and just keeping them uncomfortable”, stressed Jay Jay Chandler III. After being teammates and playing with elite guys like De`Aaron Fox or Carson Edwards, it is only logical that he wants to become the best version of himself so he can continue to climb the basketball ladder overseas. “I want to also improve my IQ. I feel I have all the attributes to be a great basketball player. I will just continue to get better in everything from taking care of my body to my skill level on the court and continuing being a student of the game”, warned Jay Jay Chandler III. It will be interesting to see where his journey goes in the next years. If he has a great season in Kosovo and the Fiba Europe Cup, then I could see him making the jump to the easyCredt BBL in Germany next season. Often in the last seasons, one has seen guys who especially played well against German BBL teams in the Fiba Europe Cup competition land in Germany the next season. No matter where he goes, I can imagine doing a second interview with him. Who knows, if he has an explosive game in his Fiba Europe Cup debut in Chemnitz, that second interview may come sooner than later.