Toronto’s Julia Chandler Commits to Syracuse

Julia Chandler (6’2″, F, Northern Secondary, 2015) of Toronto, ON has given a verbal commitment to attend Syracuse University next Fall.

“It was so stressful for me because after I narrowed it down to my top five, I fell in love with all these schools and didn’t want to make the wrong choice”, said Chandler.

“I’m so relieved and happy with my decision!”

Some of the other schools that were on Chandler’s short list included DePaul, Pitt, Fordham and Miami before deciding on the upstate New York University.

Chandler is a Forward whose ability to run the floor was a contributing factor to the great summer she had. Ranked 7th overall in Canada, she is a good ball handler for her size and has repeatedly shown that she is quite comfortable shooting from long range.

This future Syracuse Orange player has been bringing an increased level of competitiveness and hunger for rebounds over the past year or so, which will certainly be necessary against future ACC conference opponents.

“I think that I can bring versatility”, said the Northern Secondary big. “I can play the role of 3, 4 or 5.”

Julia plans on majoring in Exercise Sciences or Kinesiology, which is among the contributing factors for her selecting the upstate school to complete her studies among other key factors.
After she had taken an unofficial visit there back in May, she found a whole new reason to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend, after her official visit which solidified her decision.
She pointed out that while there, it felt most like home.
She remembered a calm, comforting feeling she felt when she was on campus is what ultimately clinched the decision for her.

“When I went on the official visit, I felt really relaxed”, said Chandler despite the obvious nerves of ensuring the right fit. “The girls were really amazing and the coaching staff was awesome.”
“I saw a practice [when I was there], and I just saw myself being able to do that.”

It was a busy year internationally for Chandler on the court. Earlier this year, she represented her country twice, playing on both the Canadian Cadette and Junior National Teams.

With the Cadettes playing in the Czech Republic at the FIBA World Championships, and the Juniors playing in the U.S.A. for the FIBA Americas Championship, Chandler got the chance to expand once again the limits of her game.

“It helped me out big time to travel around the world and see how other people play. It aspired me to work harder. Having to change my game in short periods of time in order to win because of the different styles of [teams] around the world.”

Chandler credits much of her preparation with the Canada Basketball Center for Performance (CP), with her early identification for helping her to attain her goal of representing her country. She acknowledges her Coach Bob Messam as a key

“He really opened my eyes to where I could be. He made me realize at a young age where I could go and to see my opportunities.”

Between now and when in its time for her to pack her bags to head and enroll to get started on the next stage of her journey, Chandler hopes to continue to refine elements of her game.

On the court she is working on getting faster and stronger. She is also looking to also become a better ball handler, all tying back to her bringing that element of versatility.

She is also hopes to improve her leadership skills by being more vocal as a way she can also contribute to her team.

Having been an Oakville Venom (rep team) for the past three seasons, Chandler also acknowledged her Coach Pat Traynor for not only recognizing her talent and selecting her to play on the JUEL team (U19) back in Grade 9, but also for developing her.

As well, Chandler was thankful for the help of her strength and conditioning coach, Nate Bauer for helping her to get to her many goals. She also gave credit to her ‘A’ Game Coaches for their work with her this summer, getting her mentally stronger, more competitive, as well as for refining her skills this past summer.

Last but not least, she also wanted to thank her parents!