Located in the heart of Washington state, the city of Wenatchee prides itself as the "apple capital of the world."
If Austin Chandler is any indication, those Wenatchee apple trees must grow tall. Fans of the UNBC Timberwolves men's basketball team will see evidence of that in September.
The six-foot-seven forward is coming to Prince George to play for the T-wolves to help fill the gap left by the departure of graduated forwards Devin McMurtry and Franco Kouagnia.
Chandler played junior college the past two seasons for the Wenatchee Valley College Knights, and last season helped them make the Northwest Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.
He played 25 games before he suffered a broken ankle, which cut short his season in March. Chandler averaged 24 minutes per game and picked up an average 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. He shot 40 per cent from the floor and beyond the three-point line and hit 53 per cent of his free throws.
"With the losses of Devin and Franco we were in much need of size up front and Austin will help fill this void," said UNBC head coach Todd Jordan, in a team release.
"He is a good athlete with a good work ethic and is also a good student."
Chandler checked out the UNBC campus and toured the Northern Sport Centre on a recent fly-in visit. He figures he'll make a quick adjustment to campus life in Prince George and will be a major contributor for the T-wolves' cause once he's fully recovered from his injury.
"I like UNBC and Prince George, it feels like back home," said Chandler. "Wenatchee is a valley with mountains and a river running through it. There is the same kind of feeling here.
"Every setback has a great comeback. The dream is to go play professional ball outside of college. I want to maximize my remaining years of eligibility and I think UNBC is a great place to do it."
The Knights finished third in the NAC East with a 9-5 record in conference play in 2014-15 and went 20-11 overall.
Jordan is looking forward to seeing his latest recruit in a UNBC jersey. The T-wolves made the Canada West Conference playoffs this year for the first time since UNBC joined the CIS in 2012.
"When he came up for his campus visit I knew right away that he will fit in well within our team culture as he is a team guy first," said Jordan. "He impressed me when I watched him with Wenatchee Valley College and I'm excited to work with him over the next three years to develop as both a player and a person."
