There was little mystery in the recruitment of Chancellor Barnard. The Glenelg Country School guard knew exactly where he wanted to go to college — Loyola — and the coaching staff there wanted him, too.
But with the Greyhounds' move from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to the Patriot League, Loyola's academic standards became stricter. So even though Barnard had easily reached the NCAA minimum qualifying benchmarks, he needed a higher standardized test score to be admitted to his top school.
"I knew as soon as I got my scores back that Loyola was the school I was going to go to," said Barnard, who also received interest from Binghamton, Bucknell, Davidson, Towson and UMBC. "I wanted to be a Greyhound."
On Thursday morning, Barnard got the news he was looking for: His SAT results were high enough for admission to Loyola. Later that day at Late Night With The 'Hounds at Reitz Arena, he was finally able to offer his commitment.
"My family thought it was really important [to pick a] good academic school," Barnard said. "I obviously want to play professional basketball, but it's good to have a good degree to fall back on, especially from a prestigious school like Loyola. That played a huge part."
Said Glenelg Country School coach Kevin Quinlan: "Academically, he's gotten better every single year. He came from a public school, and his GPA has jumped every year. He spent five or six weeks, every day, going through SAT prep. He really busted his tail. The standards of the Patriot League are not far below the Ivy League. I'm really proud of him."
A 6-foot-4, 185-pound combo guard, Barnard first popped up on the recruiting radar as a freshman on Glenelg Country's varsity. Barnard made his mark as one of the top perimeter defenders in the MIAA A Conference. As a junior, Quinlan said, Barnard averaged around 13 points and seven rebounds a game for the Dragons.
"He's super long, gets off the ground, finishes really well in transition," Quinlan said. Loyola was "looking for an athletic wing, and that's what he is. He's a great kid who's shown he's gritty, does the dirty work, defends and rebounds. His upside is just tremendous. He's only scratched the surface right now. He's a tremendous gym rat, loves to work. In general, I'd say they're looking for a wing that can compete with the best athletes in the Patriot League on both ends of the court."
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At Loyola, Barnard might be asked to fill the shoes of another local player in Dylon Cormier. The Cardinal Gibbons alum is set to graduate after this season, leaving the Greyhounds with a major hole at the 2.
"Hopefully, if I keep putting in the hard work, hopefully I'll fill his spot," Barnard said. "It meant a lot [for the coaches to compare me to him]. Really, a whole lot. I was shocked when they told me that. I've seen Dylon play a lot. He's really athletic and quick. I kind of look up to him that way. It felt really good to be able to fill that void when I go up to Loyola."
Barnard said he's looking forward to playing for coach G.G. Smith and assistant Keith Booth, both of whom he said he's developed strong relationships with. And he's excited to stay close to home, get a good education and play in front of friends, family and a supportive group of fans.
"It's actually a real good fan base," he said. "There's no football, so basketball and lacrosse are the main sports. The atmosphere [Thursday night] was good out there. They love basketball at Loyola."