NORMAL — It was probably inevitable that Salt Fork guard Josh Chandler would end up playing basketball.

His dad, Mike Chandler, and uncle Dave Chandler have made names for themselves as area high school basketball coaches. The sport is in his bloodlines.

And the fact that Chandler has grown up with two influential basketball minds in his family has given him the opportunity to reap the benefits of having a pair of personal consultants on his side. That also means the tough-love criticism often follows.

“Definitely, basketball is in his blood,” Salt Fork coach Aaron Hird said. “His dad and uncle are at every game. And a lot of times, they get there before we do. They’re sitting on the front row or sitting right behind our bench. Josh didn’t have any choice but to be a basketball player.”

Chandler tried football as a high school freshman but said it just wasn’t for him. And even in junior high, his dad along with other coaches tried to get him involved in other sports. But he just wouldn’t budge leading Hird to believe that rather than feeling extra pressure to play basketball because of outside influences, it was a decision he ultimately made on his own.

“When Josh was in junior high, we tried getting him to go out for track and his dad and uncle tried bribing him with a bicycle and a Playstation, but no, he didn’t care,” Hird said. “He did things his way. Having them, I don’t think that changed anything at all for him.”

Chandler said having two extra sets of eyes frequently watching his game has added a bit of pressure during his high school career, but the positives have far outweighed the negatives. And it has been most evident in his final high school season.

“During the games, sometimes my dad is coaching me,” he said. “Not going against what coach says or anything, but he’s just telling me what to do. My uncle is the same way. They are pretty critical people, but I think that’s helped me a lot more than it’s hurt me. I know they mean well by it.

“I like talking about basketball a lot, and they are just great people to have conversations with about it. They give me a lot of pointers and tell me a lot of stuff that I don’t know.”

But two years into his high school career, Chandler wasn’t sure whether he would get to use that knowledge, and the possibility was there that he might not have played for the Storm his junior and senior seasons.

After seeing minimal playing time as a freshman, Chandler was forced to sit out his sophomore year following multiple surgeries that resulted from a sinus infection and a deviated septum.

Though he continued to go to practices, he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to return for his junior season. The time off began to draw in other distractions, leading him away from the game. But he chose to give it a shot, and now as a senior is confident he made the right decision.

“It was a bad experience,” Chandler said of the recovery. “It was one of the most painful after-surgeries you could ever have. My junior year, I wasn’t sure but then I decided I wanted to play.

“I’m a pretty optimistic person about things and I like the people I play with. I wanted to come back and help the team as much as possible.”

Hird said that the same attitude that brought his senior defensive leader back to the court is the same mentality that has made him one of the most crucial pieces to this year’s puzzle. Without Chandler in the team photo, things just wouldn’t have been the same.

“He wanted to be a part of this team,” Hird said. “Out of all these guys in this group, team is what Josh is. He’s not concerned about himself. He makes us better just by being on the floor.

“There’s nobody in this gym that didn’t know what Josh was capable of. Maybe people outside of our little bubble are now seeing it, but everybody in this gym knew what Josh was capable of.

“When this season ends, and Josh’s career ends, we will miss him as a basketball player. I’m going to miss him as a kid in this gym as much as we’ll miss him as a basketball player.”