Vanderbilt basketball commitment Chandler Bing explains origin of name, 'Friends'
Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington's latest commitment doesn't have any acting chops.
But when the senior out of Pace Academy in Atlanta announced on social media April 29 that he committed to the Commodores, the jokes about his name − the same as Matthew Perry's character on "Friends" − were resurrected.
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Bing, who averaged 19-plus points, 6-plus rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals per game for Pace last season, said he was named after a bishop, not the TV character.
"My parents weren't even thinking about the show," Bing told The Tennessean. "My mom has seen the show, but when they were naming me, I guess she didn't watch it that much, wasn't even thinking about that."
Chandler Bing is related to Dave Bing
Chandler Bing has never met Dave Bing, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, former Mayor of Detroit, a member of both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams and the founder of Bing Steel.
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Dave Bing, who also is former NBA player Jalen Rose's godfather, is Chandler Bing's grandfather's first cousin, making him a distant cousin.
Dave Bing was a seven-time NBA All-Star, the 1967 NBA Rookie of the Year, the 1968 NBA scoring champion and a two-time All-NBA first-team selection.
"I haven't spoken to him," said Chandler, the Commodores' third high school recruit. "My dad knows him very well."
As for the "Friends" jokes, Chandler Bing, who heard them a lot, "especially when I was younger," knows he hasn't heard the last of them.
"I actually haven't watched the show," he said. "But I never really had a problem with (the jokes). Once people told me about it, I was like, 'OK, well, I know I'm going to get it a lot now.' "
Why Chandler Bing chose Vanderbilt
Bing is a 6-foot-6 forward who previously was committed to Texas State. He also had offers from Georgia State and Troy.
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He said he chose Vanderbilt for several reasons, including the level of competition in the SEC.
"Playing against the best guys ... that was definitely a big part of it," he said. "It was a pretty easy decision for me. Going up there, seeing the campus, the facilities, the city. It definitely was a spot, a place where I can grow on and off the court."
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.
FYI: Chandler Bing, Vanderbilt basketball commit, has same name as Matthew Perry 'Friends' character
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ANOTHER ONE: Vanderbilt basketball adds Washington wing Tyler Harris in transfer portal
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt recruit Chandler Bing explains origin of name, 'Friends'
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