This profile on basketball player Chandler Abbott is the third in a series on the start athletes at Malibu High School who will return next season.
By Sam Rubinroit / Special to The Malibu Times
On the hardwood, the Malibu High School boys basketball team had one of its most successful seasons ever. Led by sophomore sensation Chandler Abbott, the Sharks basketball squad set a school record with 20 wins, earning a 6-2 record in league play and a perfect 10 record at home, all with first year coach Jack Pollon. In the postseason, Malibu advanced to the semifinals, the furthest a team has ever gone, and performed so well they will be moving up a division next year.
At the head of it all was sophomore Chandler Abbott. With the loss of sensational seniors Chris Peck and Ryan Walczuk next year, Abbott will have to take charge of the team. He seems up to the challenge, earning first team all league and second team all-CIF honors for his performance this season, the only sophomore in each category. Abbott spoke to The Malibu Times about the teams exceptional performance and his hopes for next season.
When did you first begin playing basketball? I first started playing basketball at the age of 4.
What’s the most exciting part of the game? I love every aspect of the game. The best feeling, though, has to be when you touch the ball and know that you can do something with it.
Who is your favorite professional basketball player? I am a big fan of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. I sometimes get called Dirk at basketball camps.
What is the most important skill to master for basketball? I think the most important skill is confidence. Playing with confidence improves everything and it rubs off on the players around you.
What advice would you give to young players just beginning the game? Have fun with the game. If you have the dream to play it, follow it.
What do you do to prepare for a big game? I usually listen to my iPod and get into a mindset where I am really pumped up. It helps me loosen up and get rid of the butterflies in my stomach.
How do you handle a loss? A win? When I was younger a loss was tough to deal with, but now I just look at what I could have done better and put it into my next game. A win feels the same except with satisfaction. I still try to take out what I could have done better and improve on it the next game.
How do you balance your schoolwork and honors classes with practices and games? By joining the team you make a prior commitment to giving up free hours of your time that you would normally have and substitute them with schoolwork. I sometimes have to stay up late to finish my work or do it on a bus ride to or from a game.
Are you on any teams outside of the high school? I was on a couple club teams prior to Spring Break. I took the “Break” part literally and stopped. I am looking now at a few more club teams that I will start playing with shortly.
Do you have an interest in playing basketball in college? Professionally? I would love to play basketball in college, even more so than professionally, just because it seems so much more real. The aspect and emotion in it is something I love on the college level but if the opportunity comes to play professionally, I’ll gladly accept it.
If not, what other career do you see yourself in? I want to do something that helps other people, either as a firefighter, or some type of businessman. I haven’t thoroughly thought about it.
As a sophomore winning first team awards, do you see a need for any improvement in your game? Of course, there is a lot to work on. I want to get physically stronger, as well as mentally, to outwork other players. Also, I want to improve my guard skills so I can work from anywhere on the court and help in any way possible.
The Sharks advanced to the further they have ever gone in the playoffs. What do you credit the success to? A strong team and a strong connection between us. We all liked each other and got along well. When we were on the court we were all brothers and the ball was a toy that we did not mind sharing.
Coming into the season with a new coach, what were your expectations for the year? I was expecting a change of pace, whether it be slower or more up-tempo. I knew we would be productive with a lot of returners, and with an increased intensity level we were able to achieve it.
What did you think of Coach Pollon’s style? Coach Pollon is a fierce coach- his style keeps players focused and makes us work harder. He’s good at fixing our mistakes and puts us in the right mind set to step up to any challenge.
How will the team make up for the losses of Chris Peck and Ryan Walczuk and the other seniors? I think that with players like the ones we have returning, we can easily fill the missing spots. A lot of us are young guys who have been playing with each other for a while, so I think we can make another solid core like we had this year.
Next year, there will be three retuning sophomore starters. What do you expect for the season? I think we’ll see a smooth season. We have the chance to win league again this year since we have a lot of returners, and the rest of the league had a lot of graduating seniors. By having us younger guys playing a lot this year, we have the experience that a lot of other teams do not have. The season should be pretty good and strong as we hope to again make playoffs and try to make Malibu a school that other teams do not want to play.