When growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a three-hour drive from Detroit and two hours from Chicago, Chandler was raised by his grandparents. He started playing basketball at Fairplain East Elementary School in the Benton Harbor Area Schools when he was in fifth grade; he later attended Benton Harbor High School. There he received Michigan All-State mentions as a sophomore and junior; while averaging 22.4 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, he helped the BHHS Tigers to a 19–4 record. He was also named to the first team All-State by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks per game. That year, Chandler and the Tigers went undefeated during the regular season and were ranked #1 in the state. They were beaten by eventual state champion Holt High School in the regional final. Chandler was named Mr. Basketball of Michigan for 2005.\n', '

Chandler was recruited by and considered Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Dayton; however, he committed to DePaul University late in 2004. During his freshman season at DePaul, he achieved an average of 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds (ranked 10th in the Big East) per game. On November 30, 2005, Chandler had his first breakout game, putting up 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in a Blue Demons win over Creighton University. On December 10, 2005, he recorded 16 rebounds against Dayton, the most by a freshman since Quentin Richardson grabbed 16 in 1999. He earned Big East Rookie of the Week honors twice that season. He was also named to the Big East freshman team. Chandler scored 20 or more points 4 times, with a career-high of 26. During his sophomore season, he averaged 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. As a sophomore, Chandler was named to the Big East all second team, and recorded eight double-doubles, while leading the team to a 20-win season. They made it to the quarterfinals of the NIT. He left the college tenth on DePaul\'s all-time list for blocked shots with 86.\n', '

In April 2007, Chandler decided to enter his name in the 2007 NBA draft after careful consideration. Before entering the draft, he hired Chris Grier as his agent. He had not worked out for many teams prior to the draft. He was injured in Atlanta before being able to work out with any other teams. The Knicks talked to his agent and told him they were interested in him. Isiah Thomas, the team\'s general manager, had very good contacts at DePaul University and knew about him from watching him play in college.\n', '

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