Will former Briarcrest star Kennedy Chandler get one last game at old gym?

Kennedy Chandler won a state title and back-to-back Division II-AA Mr. Basketball awards at Briarcrest, establishing himself as the No. 1 high school point guard in America. He recently transferred to Sunrise Christian, a prep school in Bel-Aire, Kansas, where some of his AAU teammates from Mokan Elite play.

And because of that, the 17-year-old senior might miss out on playing one last game at the school he had  attended since the second grade.

Briarcrest is one of the schools set to host the Memphis part of the Kevin Durant National Hoopfest series, formerly known as the ARS/Rescue Rooter Memphis Hoopfest, one of the biggest events in the country. The event is scheduled for Jan. 8-9. 

But National Hoopfest CEO Travis Haddock is considering banning Briarcrest from the event because Briarcrest coach John Harrington said "I don't think it would be a good idea" for Sunrise Christian to play in the Briarcrest gym. 

According to Haddock, there was an opportunity for Sunrise Christian to play a game at Briarcrest. It was a chance for Kennedy to return home to play one last time in his old high school gym. 

"I knew that Kennedy wanted to come back and play at Briarcrest," Haddock said. "Not necessarily play against Briarcrest, but that they really wanted to go back there and play. So I was going to honor that, not thinking it was a big deal."

But those plans came to a halt when Harrington made his comments.

"We were talking the other night and he was like, can we still host? And I was like, well yeah, you can still host on Friday night," Haddock said. "And I wasn't even joking at the time. I was like, do you want to play Sunrise? Do you want Kennedy to come back? And he was like, 'No, I don't even want to play him in this building. Have him play somewhere else.' I told him we were hosting at Arlington and he said, 'Well send him over there.' " 

Haddock said he was surprised by the comments but felt it wasn't his place to challenge Harrington. So he expressed his feelings about the situation by posting on Facebook on Monday night. 

"Well, let me be really clear on something. If a kid in my hometown has a chance to play for an elite national high school, then I’m 100% in the child’s corner," Haddock wrote about Chandler on Facebook. "If I’m told that player is banned from competing at his original school, then that school will be banned. A great kid in Memphis was literally banned to play in my event at his old school even though he has been presented with an amazing opportunity."

Kylan Chandler, Kennedy's father, was disappointed by the news. He said he felt that Briarcrest should be honoring Kennedy for his accomplishments instead of barring his new team from playing in the Saints' gym. 

"Sometimes you get in your feelings, but you have to watch what you say," Chandler said. "And as a head coach, he should know better. Kennedy has left blood, sweat and tears at that school since the second grade. Especially with what our world is going through today? You go and make that statement? With all he's done for that school?"

Haddock texted Harrington and told him he could rectify the situation by contacting Kylan Chandler and apologizing. 

Harrington, who has been coaching in the area for more than three decades, said he reached out to Haddock and Chandler several times with no response. He's gone on the record in the past as saying there were no hard feelings between him and the 6-foot guard for leaving Briarcrest.

"I'm very disappointed that the Chandler family is upset," Harrington said. "We tried to communicate with them. We called Travis Haddock 10 times today and we have not heard back from anyone to try to resolve this misunderstanding."

Haddock said he hopes Harrington and Chandler get a chance to talk and resolve the issue. 

"Is it worth not letting the kid come back where all his friends are? Again, we're talking about a 17-year-old kid," Haddock said. "The adults sometimes get more caught up in the feelings than the children do and say things off the cuff in the moment and maybe they look back and say, 'Maybe, I could have said that a little different.' I hope that they talk to each other and make it right."