Russellville High School varsity basketball standout Chandler Dyas signed a letter of intent to continue his playing days at Millsaps College during a ceremony Oct. 23.

The senior shooting guard has received interest from several college coaches, and he said he felt playing for Coach Michael Prather and the Majors was the perfect fit for him.

Dyas not only excels on the basketball court but is also great in the classroom, sporting a 4.25 grade point average, which helped lead to his four-year academic scholarship offer from Millsaps.

“It’s a bit of a smaller campus, so I can have more of a connection with the professors,” Dyas said. “I like the play of the coach and the team, and I definitely think I can be a good fit.”

During his junior year at Russellville, Dyas started 27 games and averaged just over 17 points per contest for head coach Patrick Odom’s team.

“Chandler is one of the hardest-working players I’ve had in my 22-23 years of coaching,” Odom said. “I’m very proud of him because it wasn’t just basketball. He wanted the right match academically and athletically, and we believe we’ve got that at Millsaps.

“Coach Michael Prather is a great guy, and we just feel like it’s a win all across the board.”

In 2019-20 Dyas totaled 465 points, and he had 10 games in which he scored 20 or more points. Not only is he a solid scorer, Dyas is an all-around asset to the team. He averaged 4.5 rebounds per game last season and 3.2 assists. On the defensive end of the floor, he averaged 1.5 blocks and a steal per game.

Chandler is the son of Lloyd and Alisha Dyas. He said his favorite memories so far as a Golden Tiger are his buzzer-beater shot in a win over Athens and last year’s area tournament.