Vanderbilt’s Chandler Bing knows you’ve heard his name before — but he swears he wasn’t named after the late Matthew Perry’s beloved character on Friends.
Of course, that didn’t stop the jokes from pouring in after Bing announced his decision to attend the Nashville, Tennessee, school on Tuesday, April 29.
“My parents weren’t even thinking about the show,” he told the Tennessean in an interview published on Friday, May 2. “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.”
Bing added that while he’s already heard plenty of Friends-related jokes in his life, he knows there are more to come as he continues his basketball career.
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“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.’ “
The young basketball star also told the outlet he chose Vanderbilt because he wants to compete at a high level 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.”
Vanderbilt is also home to a talented women’s basketball team that features rising sophomore Mikayla Blakes and rising junior Khamil Pierre. The pair joined their teammates Sacha Washington and Justine Pissott at the 2025 USA Basketball 3X Nationals at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona, May 2 through May 4.
The event showcases 16 teams all hoping to win a 3×3 championship and to be evaluated for a spot on the USA Basketball 3×3 national team. Additional teams featured at the event are from Fairfield, Florida, James Madison, Oklahoma State, Richmond, South Carolina, South Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin and TCU.
Blakes, Pierre and Pissott all played a major role in leading the women’s basketball team at Vanderbilt to their second-straight 20-win season and an appearance at this year’s March Madness tournament.
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Blakes averaged 23.3 points per game during the 2024-25 season and was named USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year; Pierre averaged 20.4 points per game and was named to the WBCA All-American honorable mention team.
