Cleveland Charge guard Chandler Vaudrin shares his journey, and faith, towards making the NBA

Last summer, it felt like Chandler Vaudrin’s dreams of playing in the NBA were finally coming true. Vaudrin, who graduated from Lake High School in 2016 and played at nearby Walsh University, was suiting up for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League. After going undrafted despite a strong final season with Winthrop University, Vaudrin was getting a chance to prove to all 30 NBA teams, the Cavaliers included, that he belonged at basketball’s highest level.

Unfortunately for Vaudrin, who was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract at the time with the Cavaliers, disaster struck in Cleveland’s third Summer League matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. In his first start for the summertime Cavaliers, Vaudrin had suffered a torn ACL, which would sideline any basketball-related activities for at least a year. But, for Vaudrin, who had already gone undrafted due to his small school status, the injury could’ve spelled the end of his NBA ambitions.

“It’s the first time in my career I truly suffered a setback,” said Vaudrin to Right Down Euclid. “Sure, I’ve dealt with injuries while playing. Anybody who plays basketball at any level can say that they have. But, what happened with my ACL is different. I thought maybe this was it for me and my career as a basketball player.”

Typically, for players in Vaudrin’s situation fighting to earn a training camp invite, a team would waive them and move on to a different prospect. That’s the unfortunate nature of the beast in professional sports where what someone has done for you lately is what ultimately matters the most. But, when it comes to Vaudrin and his short time with the Cavaliers, things were different. Soon after the diagnosis of Vaudrin’s knee was finalized, Vaudrin shared that the Cavaliers didn’t even hesitate in taking care of his surgery and rehabilitation. Not only that but, Cleveland’s coaching staff and front office kept constant tabs on Vaudrin while he recovered. The organization also invited him up to games and had him spend time with players last season, making sure he felt like he was part of the family, and culture, the Cavaliers have been building

“There are times I was like, ‘Am I good enough? Can I do it,'” said Vaudrin. “I’m coming off an ACL injury. I’m 25. Like, all these questions I would have to prove. And it was a boost to see that, hey, a team still cares about me. For the Cavs to do that, which they did not have to do at all, I was just very thankful for. It shows how good their culture is here and how they really care about people more than just what happens on the basketball court.”

When Vaudrin was able to get back to the hardwood, the Cavaliers organization even opened up the doors at Cleveland Clinic Courts, the team’s practice facility, to him as well. But, before that could happen, Vaudrin understandably sought familiarity and comfort in the early phases of his recovery. On the physical side of his recovery, Vaudrin didn’t stick around in Northeast Ohio. Instead, he headed down south to South Carolina to reunite with his college head coach Pat Kelsey at the College of Charleston.

Kelsey and Vaudrin’s relationship is a special one between player and coach. Vaudrin shared with Right Down Euclid that while he was with Walsh, he was losing some of his passion for the game of basketball. Sure, some of that can be attributed to early college teenage angst but Vaudrin began to question if he was good enough to continue his dream. But, after Vaudrin met Kelsey, the two connected over the game and, in turn, Vaudrin once again found his love for the game of basketball and let it show on the court.

With that newfound love for the game, Vaudrin played under Kelsey for three seasons, with the first being a redshirt season, and helped lead Winthrop to an overall record of 65-24 during their time together. Vaudrin also averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists for the Eagles as well during that span. After Vaudrin left college to go pro, Kelsey moved on as well to coach the Charleston Cougars. When news broke that Vaudrin would be out for an extended period due to a torn ACL, Vaudrin shared that Kelsey reached out almost immediately to get him to Charleston to start rehabbing him physically. Kelsey and his coaching staff, which included other familiar Winthrop faces in Kloman as well as Jermaine Ukaegbu, had hardly even settled into their offices when they decided to collectively take on the project of helping Vaudrin recover and find his way to the court again.

“We take pride in having very deep relationships with our players not only when they’re playing with us but after their playing career and for the rest of their lives,” said Kelsey to Right Down Euclid. “We say it’s not a four-year relationship, it’s a 40-year relationship. It was a devastating blow to Chan to see him go through that and he was hurt. He was on the phone with Brian Kloman and you could tell he was struggling to cope with it. That’s when I was like, ‘Get him down here. Let’s bring him home.’

“As a coach, it was a sad day when I thought it was the last time I could coach Chan and be around him. So, I’m saying this selfishly even though it was good for Chan to be back down here, it was even better for me. I got another four-month dose of being around him. If I could have that in my life every day, I’d be a blessed person.”

For the next several months, Vaudrin mostly slept on the couch in Ukaegbu’s one-bedroom apartment near the College of Charleston’s campus. Sure, there were days the physical recovery was tough and Vaudrin shared he learned how to take it day by day and that he can only control what he could control at that moment. Eventually, day by day Vaudrin started seeing progress and started feeling more comfortable on the floor. Looking back at it now, Vaudrin shares that Kelsey and the former Winthrop coaching staff saved him and his dreams twice now.

But, at the end of the day, that’s only part of the battle when recovering from a career-altering injury.

For many athletes, Vaudrin included, the mental aspect is the hardest hurdle to overcome. In Vaudrin’s case, there were days that progress would feel like its ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, injury recovery is never static nor linear and ultimately hinges on how your body responds. So, when there were days that were more frustrating than others, doubt would creep into the back of Vaudrin’s mind about his basketball future, like an unwelcome house guest looking to kick you when you’re already down.

Whenever that would happen, Vaudrin would lean on the two strongest pillars in his life: his faith and his family. Throughout his recovery process, Vaudrin shared with Right Down Euclid that the Bible verse 1 Peter 5:10 deeply resonated with him. The verse shares that suffering will happen in life, but in the end, you will be restored from the harm you suffered, stronger than before. Vaudrin also formed a tightly-knit Christian brotherhood, where his friends, united by their faith, helped pick him whenever he was feeling down during his recovery. They helped Vaudrin see the forest for the trees and gave him foresight when he needed it the most.

When it comes to his family, meanwhile, Vaudrin said that it was more than just his blood relatives. Sure, Vaudrin gives a lot of credit to his parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews keeping him steady throughout his recovery. But, as Vaudrin’s mother Laurie would tell him, it takes a village to raise a child or, in this case, a basketball player. Everyone in Uniontown, Vaudrin’s childhood home, kept tabs on their local star and offered words of encouragement whenever they could during his recovery. In fact, when the time came for Vaudrin’s return to the court, sources shared with Right Down Euclid that more than 50 people came out to cheer him on.

“It’s a really tight-knit community,” said Vaudrin. “They’re all really good people and I want to give back to them and inspire them as much as they’ve helped and inspired me during this process. Those people continued to pour into me when they didn’t have to and it helped me get through each day.”

When Vaudrin did return to the court, it was technically with Cleveland. But, instead of with the Cavaliers, it was with the Cleveland Charge – the main club’s NBA G League affiliate. Remember, the main club has been keeping constant tabs on Vaudrin during his recovery and clearly wanted to have him around when he was ready to return to the floor. The long-term goal is for him to hopefully slide in as a backup to either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell down the line. It’s going to take time for Vaudrin to reach that goal but, for now, he’s heading in the right direction towards fulfilling his NBA dream.

In order for him to make his dreams a reality, Vaudrin will need to continue to grow and develop on a professional level with the Charge. Cleveland head coach Mike Gerrity shared with Right Down Euclid that he wants to utilize Vaudrin’s unique combination of size, defense and playmaking to add multiple wrinkles to the Charge’s offensive and defensive approach. During a practice Right Down Euclid was able to attend, Vaudrin spent time defending every position on the floor on defense. On the other side of things, he was able to utilize his elite court vision to connect with his Cleveland teammates, showing flashes of the player he was once was in college.

The thing is, Vaudrin won’t be the same player he was in college after the injury. Instead, he’s grown both mentally and physically after suffering a setback that could’ve derailed everything. Vaudrin expressed on several occasions to Right Down Euclid that tearing his ACL forced him to grow up and change his approach both on and off the court. You can see it in something as simple as him changing his jersey number from 52, which Vaudrin called a “trash number” and a running joke that he carried with him since high school, to 1, a more traditional number that he wore while playing baseball.

In a more macro sense, you can see the new-found maturity on the floor and around his new teammates on the Charge as well.

“It’s just how he is as a person and as a leader,” said Sharife Cooper, starting point guard for the Charge. “No matter who you are, Chandler’s always talking you up whenever he can. He’s just a good dude and makes me feel better as a person and a player.”

Cooper went on to share with Right Down Euclid that Vaudrin has been constantly pushing him during their brief time together with the Charge. Vaudrin said that, in the end, everyone’s goal on the Charge is to make it to the NBA. If he’s able to help a teammate, like Cooper, reach that goal sooner than anticipated, he’ll do whatever it takes in order to make it happen.

It’s a tired, but true, cliche that time heals all wounds. In Vaudrin’s case, it couldn’t be more true. Despite suffering a career-altering injury, Vaudrin came out stronger, and better, than he did before that fateful day in Las Vegas. If anything, Vaudrin’s injury wasn’t a setback but rather another step in his journey to joining the NBA. The fact that he gets to do it in Cleveland in front of his friends, family and, by extension, his childhood team, isn’t lost on Vaudrin either.

“I’m just thankful that they believe in me even after that knee injury, said Vaudrin to Right Down Euclid. “They still believe in me and see a future for me. So, I’m just thankful. I think the little kid that grew up a Cavs fan would be excited with how things have turned out so far for sure.”

Evan Dammarell is a sports journalist covering all things Cleveland right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. You can also email him at [email protected] He can also be found three to five times a week on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

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