Chandler to transfer?

After a long day of speculation regarding Corey Chandler’s status with the Rutgers men’s basketball program, The Daily Targum has learned Chandler has not made a definitive choice on whether or not to transfer, but is very unhappy with his role on the team.
An initial report by Zagsblog.com said the sophomore guard will transfer at the end of the year, but contradicting reports from those close to Chandler said he was staying with the Scarlet Knights.
According to a source very close to both Chandler and the program, the guard is not content with the playing time he is receiving and is contemplating leaving the Scarlet Knights at the season’s end.
Chandler will meet with head coach Fred Hill Jr. after the season to discuss his future, the source said.
“I can’t say that it’s official because he has to sit down with the coaching staff,” said the source who asked not to be named because of his proximity to both parties. “Is he happy? He’s definitely very unhappy — not with Rutgers. He loves the school, loves the people — he’s unhappy with his role.
“Nothing has been determined. If you do anything, you have to do it right and doing it right is sitting down and meeting with the coach and having a discussion. The way it’s coming out now is a total blind-side and that is not proper.”
The source said what will transpire after the season ends will determine Chandler’s fate.
“[Meeting with the coaching staff] should take place after the season and not now because it is a distraction to the team, the Rutgers community, Corey and everybody involved,” the informant said. “[The news leaking] should never happen. That was never Corey’s plan and I know he was angry, but he reached out to someone who wasn’t in his immediate circle and this is what happens.
“Everything is still up in the air. I know he went in and worked out with Mike Rosario [yesterday]. It’s not an official thing.”
Another close confidant of Chandler’s began the imbroglio by saying the guard called him after the 70-40 loss to Syracuse and told him he wanted to leave the program.
“He called me [Tuesday] night, late [Tuesday] night, and told me he wanted out,” said Alif Muhammad, the president of Alif Muhammad NIA School, where Chandler went to meet NCAA academic requirements.
“I think that a couple of weeks ago he was unhappy, because I watched some of the games. So I talked to him a couple of weeks ago and he said that everything was OK. At about 11:45 [Tuesday] night he was very, very upset when he called me,” Muhammad said. “I was out of town so I didn’t know exactly what happened. Then when I got home and I saw the computer, I saw they had lost to Syracuse by some big number.”
The source said that news of Chandler’s status should never have gotten to the public via Muhammad.
“[The news leaking] should never happen,” he said. “That was never Corey’s plan and I know he was angry, but he reached out to someone who wasn’t in his immediate circle and this is what happens.”
Chandler indicated to another anonymous source close to the men’s basketball team, contacted by the Targum, that there is no truth to it, and he is not leaving Rutgers.
Bryant Garbin, the head coach at Chandler’s alma mater Newark East Side High School, also said Chandler was staying.
Chandler’s unhappiness seems to have sprung from his diminished playing time in relation to last season. Chandler received 25.2 minutes per game and averaged 11.9 points per game during the 2007-2008 season. This season his production has dropped to 7.4 points per game in 20.9 minutes per game.
As of Tuesday night, Muhammad said that Chandler was “99 percent” certain that he would be transferring but said that he had not talked with the Newark native as of last night.
Muhammad strongly asserted that Chandler also was not happy with his playing time. During the Syracuse loss, with the Knights struggling offensively, Chandler played only five minutes and missed all three of his shots.
“I guess he’s a little disgruntled because last year he was an important part of the team, and as a matter of fact to me, they did better last year,” Muhammad said.
Zagsblog took down its original story but put it back up hours later, but a quote from Gargin affirming Chandler’s intent to transfer was absent. MyCentralJersey.com also reported that Chandler’s transfer will happen once the season ends.
Muhammad said that if Chandler decides to leave, he would ask for a general release so the guard can consider any school outside of the Big East.
Kevin Lorincz, the sports information director for the men’s basketball program, had no comment.

3 comments

Bob

Thu Mar 5 2009 12:52

Being literate and being a pretentious ass are two different things. A literate person is able to formulate an intelligent sentence while a pretentious ass uses words like imbroglio, myriad, dearth, and plethora.

Sean

Thu Mar 5 2009 10:25

Or, you know, if you're literate.

Your name

Thu Mar 5 2009 00:37

Imbroglio? You gotta be kidding me. That's just a word a person uses to stroke his own ego.

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