"My grandparents died when I was very young, I always wanted to be a track athlete, and since I could jump and was very quick, I figured that was the sport for me. I loved to run and jump, and after my grandparents did pass, my family moved to Chicago, where everything seemed to turn out just right." Chandler said, looking back on his time as a child.
Chandler Dawes joined the Springfield Falcons before the 2013 season, and just finished up his 2024 campaign, Dawes would become a 2 time MVP and 3x National Championship Tournament MVP led by head Coach Will Jenkins.
"He was so good in 2011, I was shocked when he didn't join Springfield in 2012 with his brother Charlie, I'm surprised he stuck around another year with the MeanStreets in Chicago." Former NBA Reporter David Aldridge said.
"We played against Chandler when he was leading the U7 USA FIBA team, I got to be apart of the All AAU team that season to play against my brother, and he went at me and a couple of the other guys, and played really well, he played great. That was against some of the best the AAU had to offer at our age, and he just made it seem so effortless and smooth. I thought to myself, he's going to be so much better that I was ever going to be." Twin brother Charlie Dawes said.
"A day or two before the 2013 season starts, Coach Jenkins calls me, and I remember answering the phone, and realizing that he wanted to me to come join my twin brother Charlie, who at the time was probably the best player in the AAU, it was an extreme honor to have even been asked to join them." Chandler said.
"I remember watching Chandler on the USA FIBA team, and I remember the chair I was sitting in, and the exact way I was sitting in it, when Coach Jenkins called me, and told me that Chandler had agreed to join our team and join his brother. I remembered just elevating out of the chair, and then I did a massive fist punch in the air." Manager Timothy Allen said.
" I remember getting a call, just about an hour after it broke from Brooks and all he said was 'We're back baby!" Carter Bryant said.
"It was the most incredible thing that could have happened for us, and it was just one of those things where you feel like God is just moving the chest pieces around the board, and it was just amazing to be apart of." Charlie said.
"I remember when I had just turned 7, asking my dad how he was going to be so good, he hadn't even played a game for us yet, and all my dad replied with was "This kid's special and we're going to be on top for a ways to come."
" I don't remember really anything from that day, if I'm being honest. I had two pretty solid seasons with the MeanStreets, and after the FIBA games, my stock just jumped and coach Jenkins was the most normal and modest about it, he made me feel comfortable, and it just seemed like the right decision to go with." Chandler said.
"You get an up close look, and really all you can say to yourself is, this kid is a future superstar and is going to be a force to deal with for years to come. He just amazed us from day 1." former teammate Brooks Bahr said.
"As soon as we got him on our team, I went up to go visit Chandler and spent 4 or 5 days with him, I wanted to meet his family outside of how Charlie had described them, I wanted to meet his friends and the stuff he did." Coach Jenkins said.
"After he came up and visited me and my family, it was something that I remember everything about, it's just something that was incredibly special to me." Chandler said.
"I remember about 2 weeks into practice, Chandler was at practice, and probably about a week into practice, Charlie realized that Chandler was going to be the go-to guy, and with Charlie's character he was open to it, and he was going to help Chandler with anything he could from a supporting role." Coach Jenkins said.
"Chandler did things that I couldn't do, I wanted him to come in and bring those things to the table, and I loved his skill set, I thought it honeslty went along with mine perfectly, and you hardly ever see that. This was a true twin towers thing, because the two of us together, we could get every rebound, block every shot, and we could score from inside and out." Charlie said.
"He's a special kid, and he knew from day one that he was going to be the guy, Charlie gladly took the backseat and watch his brother dominate, his character was something that was extremely special, and it has been an honor to coach him for as long as I have been able too." Coach Jenkins said.