Chandler Matthews gives Deerfield-Windsor a spark

ALBANY – As a youngster, it wasn’t hard for Chandler Matthews to find the motivation to become a better basketball player. His older brother Michael was a star for Deerfield-Windsor School from 2006-10 and became a defacto role model.

Chandler, a senior, is one of the Knights’ best shooters and has helped them to a 14-2 record.

His ability to fill up the basket from long range is something he has been working on for some time, and watching Michael, who holds the record for most career 3-pointers at Deerfield, drove Chandler to try to perfect his long-distance shot.

“I’ve always tried to be like him,” Chandler Matthews said. “I always wanted to shoot threes like him, so I’ve always worked on it. He has always been a motivation for me. He has always talked to me when I played, and he has helped me a lot.”

Chandler’s penchant for scoring in bunches was on display Tuesday night in the Knights’ 70-38 victory over Westwood. The senior opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to help Deerfield-Windsor jump out to an early lead. He finished with 25 points, including six treys.

“He’s been so much more consistent, offensively, this year,” Deerfield-Windsor coach Gordy Gruhl said. “Last year, he was very inconsistent. He would have a really good game shooting it, and then he would have a bad game or two. He has a shooter’s mentality, where if he misses his first three, he starts to think, ‘Well, I will hit my next three.’ ’”

Gruhl coached both Matthews brothers and sees a lot of similarities.

“He reminds me of Michael a good bit,” Gruhl said. “They are both great competitors that could really shoot the basketball. That was their big role. They both became much better defensive players as they got older. That is something I got onto both of them early in their careers, and they turned into good defensive players.”

Despite being in the middle of the season, Chandler still works on his shot nearly every day. When Deerfield doesn’t practice, he still makes time to go to the court and perfect his shot. He estimates that he shoots 50 free throws, 100 midrange jumpers and 200 3-pointers on an off day.

“It’s just about coming up here to the court and working at it,” Chandler said. “You just have to always try to perfect your shot.”

In addition to being a standout on the basketball court, Chandler also plays baseball and runs track and field for the Knights.

“I think playing multiple sports has really helped me a lot,” Chandler said. “I am always in shape because right after basketball I go to baseball and track.”

If Chandler keeps up his hot shooting, the Knights could find themselves making another deep postseason run after capturing the state title last year.

“He is certainly our best 3-point shooter,” Gruhl said. “The way we play, when we are shooting the ball well, we are pretty good. You got Chandler, sometimes Tyler (Lowe) and sometimes Trey (Young) — when they all get shooting, we are real good.”