Adam Ballinger on his NBL Career, Michigan States 2000 NCAA championship with Michigan State and NBA Art
November 13, 2021
Mike Chappell
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 21/01/78
- Place of Birth: Southfield, Michigan (USA)
- Position: G/F
- Height (CM): 206
- Weight (KG): 98
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Duke (1996-1998) / Michigan State (1999-2001)
- NBL DEBUT: 5/01/02
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 8/12/07
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 29
- NBL History: Wollongong 2002 | Canberra 2003 | New Zealand 2004-05 | Adelaide 2008
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Michael Lawrence Chappell was born in Southfield, Michigan (USA). Chapelle played in three NCAA Final Fours and won a NCAA Title 2000.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Mike Chappell made his NBL debut with the Wollongong Hawks at 23 years of age. He scored 17 points in his first game.
During his first season in the NBL, Chappell averaged 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists as the Hawks finished in fourth place (16-14).
CANBERRA CANNONS
2002/03
Although Canberra entered 2002 struggling to stay afloat financially, the team added imports Chappell and Reginald Poole (via Europe) to the roster and hoped a competitive team would draw enough fans to cover their costs.
With Chappell (21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) leading the team in scoring, alongside Dave Thomas (18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals), CJ Bruton (15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 steals) and Poole (14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.2 blocks) the Cannons started the season on fire. The part of the plan that involved building a successful team worked with Canberra winning seven of their first nine games, but by December, Cannon’s ownership couldn’t afford to keep paying the bills, and the team was forced into voluntary administration just three months into the season. Back-up big man Pero Vasiljevic (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas, who had both just signed two-year deals with the Cannons, exited the club to find alternative employment. A few games later, Bruton and Chappell both requested their release and signed elsewhere also.
Veterans Matthew Shanahan (14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) and Willie Simmons (6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) were added mid-season to help cover the loss of their starting lineup but it wasn’t nearly enough.
In a combined attempt to raise enough money to keep the team in the league and add a few bodies to the roster, a number of NBL legends made cameo appearances with Cannons throughout the last half of the season. 41-year-old Butch Hays suited up for four games for the Cannons, and Perth Wildcats’ legend James Crawford also came out of retirement for one game. The Cannons season ended with the club going 4-17 across their remaining games, and at the end of 2003, Canberra’s licence was moved to Newcastle, where it operated as the Hunter Pirates.
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2003/04
In March 2003, Three Waikato businessmen, Michael Redman, Dallas Fisher and Keith Ward, acquired a NBL licence for a team based in New Zealand. The inaugural Breakers roster was built from the core playing group of New Zealand’s national team, which had finished in fourth place at the FIBA World Championships six months prior.
Phill Jones, who had been the ‘Tall Blacks’ leading scorer (18.2 ppg) at the World Champs, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher, Paora Winitana and Pero Cameron (who was named team captain) formed the Breakers’ local core. The roster was then filled out with up and coming New Zealand talent like Aaron Olsen and Lindsey Tait and some Australian NBL veterans like Ben Melmeth and Brad Williams to add leadership. Lastly, Casey Frank, a long-time import in the New Zealand national league, was signed as the team’s second import.
Jeff Green was implemented as the team’s first coach and, despite the Breakers being picked by many to finish dead last, they pulled out a win in their very first NBL game against Adelaide (111-110).
After initial success, the Breakers went on to lose ten of their next eleven games (proving the pundits right) to languish near the bottom of the NBL ladder for the remainder of the season.
Twelve games into the season (2-10), Green was fired and succeeded by the team’s assistant coach Frank Arsego, who had also headed up the basketball program at the Australian Institute of Sport for the past five years. Arsego would then bring in Mike Chappell (22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists), who finished top five in the league in both points and three-point shooting while playing in Canberra the season before. Both Casey Frank and Brad Williams would be released to make way for Chappell, who went on to lead the team in scoring and named Breakers club MVP.
Chappell’s presence delivered a mid-season resurgence where a five game winning streak towards the end of the season gave the Breakers a realistic shot of qualifying for the playoffs. Needing to win both of their final games in the final round to claim a playoff berth, the Breakers instead went winless and finished in tenth place (12–21).
Chappell averaged 22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists alongside teammates Jones (13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Ben Melmeth (13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) who were the best among the team’s local talent.
2004/05
The Breakers entered their second NBL season looking to improve on their tenth-place finish in their first year during their debut season. The Breakers moved Frank Arsego, who had replaced Jeff Green mid-season, into a permanent position as the team’s head coach. The next move was locking in the Breakers’ leading scorer and MVP from the previous season, Mike Chappell, and replacing import Casey Frank with Shawn Redhage, who had been dominating the state league (SEABL).
Ben Melmeth would return to his hometown of Newcastle to play for the Hunter Pirates. He was replaced with fellow Aussie big man Ben Pepper, whose former team, the Victoria Giants, had vacated the league due to financial issues.
To begin the season, Paul Henare was made co-captain, alongside last year’s ‘skipper’ Pero Cameron, and despite falling short in their opening game (a re-match of the team’s first ever game against Adelaide, which they lost 94-106) they started the season by splitting the first games six games and sit within the middle of the were pack with a 3-3 record.
Although Redhage (12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) made a impressive start to the season, a form slump in November, which saw the team lose six of its seven games, led to Redhage’s court time being reduced and eventually his release after 13 games.
While Redhage would go on to sign with Perth and become one of the NBL’s all-time greats, his replacement came in the form of Marcus Timmons (9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals). A clear mistake had been made there, however, as shortly after taking the court, it was clear Timmons was no longer the player he was back when he joined the Melbourne Tigers mid-season in 1997 and led them to a championship.
Chappell (18 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season, while Aaron Olson would boost his scoring from 10.8 points per game to 15.5 points per game and win the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.
The Breakers ended the season with 9 wins abd 23 losses, failing to improve on their debut season and finishing in eleventh place.
ADELAIDE 36ERS
2007/08
In 2007/08 Chappell averaged 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, as the 36ers finished in a ninth place (14-16).
Mike Chappell played five seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Wollongong Hawks, Canberra Cannons, New Zealand Breakers and Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 18 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 103 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 30 | Adelaide | 14-16 (9) | 15 | 447.0 | 166 | 63 | 24 | 15 | 48 | 6 | 2 | 33 | 58 | 54 | 166 | 33% | 19 | 77 | 25% | 39 | 72 | 54% | 41% | 38% | 30 |
| 2004-05 | 27 | New Zealand | 9-23 (11) | 31 | 1,096.0 | 557 | 133 | 62 | 43 | 90 | 25 | 13 | 67 | 102 | 193 | 460 | 42% | 75 | 207 | 36% | 96 | 144 | 67% | 53% | 50% | 32 |
| 2003-04 | 26 | New Zealand | 12-21 (10) | 21 | 813.0 | 477 | 109 | 35 | 28 | 81 | 12 | 9 | 55 | 73 | 169 | 365 | 46% | 64 | 151 | 42% | 75 | 99 | 76% | 58% | 55% | 44 |
| 2002-03 | 25 | Canberra | 11-19 (9) | 21 | 795.0 | 447 | 127 | 37 | 38 | 89 | 7 | 8 | 64 | 70 | 160 | 378 | 42% | 48 | 116 | 41% | 79 | 113 | 70% | 52% | 49% | 40 |
| 2001-02 | 24 | Wollongong | 16-14 (4) | 15 | 381.0 | 215 | 95 | 14 | 31 | 64 | 6 | 2 | 32 | 69 | 78 | 176 | 44% | 19 | 57 | 33% | 40 | 54 | 74% | 53% | 50% | 22 | Totals | 103 | 3532 | 1862 | 527 | 172 | 155 | 372 | 56 | 34 | 251 | 372 | 654 | 1545 | 42.3% | 225 | 608 | 37.0% | 329 | 482 | 68.3% | 53% | 50% | 44 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 30 | Adelaide | 14-16 (9) | 15 | 29.8 | 11.1 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 11.1 | 33% | 1.3 | 5.1 | 25% | 2.6 | 4.8 | 54% | 41% | 38% | 30 |
| 2004-05 | 27 | New Zealand | 9-23 (11) | 31 | 35.4 | 18.0 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 14.8 | 42% | 2.4 | 6.7 | 36% | 3.1 | 4.6 | 67% | 53% | 50% | 32 |
| 2003-04 | 26 | New Zealand | 12-21 (10) | 21 | 38.7 | 22.7 | 5.2 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 17.4 | 46% | 3.0 | 7.2 | 42% | 3.6 | 4.7 | 76% | 58% | 55% | 44 |
| 2002-03 | 25 | Canberra | 11-19 (9) | 21 | 37.9 | 21.3 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 7.6 | 18.0 | 42% | 2.3 | 5.5 | 41% | 3.8 | 5.4 | 70% | 52% | 49% | 40 |
| 2001-02 | 24 | Wollongong | 16-14 (4) | 15 | 25.4 | 14.3 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 11.7 | 44% | 1.3 | 3.8 | 33% | 2.7 | 3.6 | 74% | 53% | 50% | 22 | Total | 103 | 34.3 | 18.1 | 5.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 6.3 | 15.0 | 42.3% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37.0% | 2.2 | 5.9 | 68.3% | 53% | 50% | 44 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 44 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Waikato Titans (2004) | Portugal - Queluz (2005) | Lebanon - Champville SC (2005–2006) | Japan - Sendai 89ers (2006–2007), Tokyo Apache (2009–2011) | Puerto Rico - Vaqueros de Bayamón (2008) | Ukraine - Budivelnyk Kyiv (2008–2009) | Uruguay - Hebraica y Macabi (2009)
Chappell joined the Waikato Titans for the 2004 New Zealand National Basketball League season, playing his first season in New Zealand.
Chappell joined Queluz for the 2005 Portuguese Liga TMN season, and he was later replaced on the roster by American forward Seamus Boxley during October 2005 preparations for the club’s European tournament schedule.
Chappell moved to Lebanon for the 2005–2006 season with Champville SC.
Chappell joined the Sendai 89ers for the 2006–2007 Basketball Japan League season after signing in August 2006.
Chappell played in Puerto Rico during 2008 with the Vaqueros de Bayamón before moving to Ukraine, where he joined Budivelnyk Kyiv in summer 2008 and remained with the club into the 2008–2009 season, including a stint that lasted until December 2008.
Chappell played in Uruguay during 2009 with Hebraica y Macabi before returning to Japan, joining the Tokyo Apache in autumn 2009 for the BJ League and continuing there through 2010–2011 alongside imports and key rotation players including Rasheed Sparks, Julius Ashby, Nick Davis, Jerrell Smith, and Japanese teammates such as Takanori Goya and Reina Itakura, with Tokyo finishing fourth overall in 2009–2010 and losing its BJ League quarterfinal series to the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix in games played on May 15, 2010 (96–68) and May 16, 2010 (90–80).
COLLEGE
Chappell played college basketball at Duke during the 1996–97 season before continuing with the Blue Devils through the 1997–98 campaign, and he later transferred to Michigan State, where he competed from 1999 to 2001.
At Duke, he was part of teams coached by Mike Krzyzewski that finished 24–9 in 1996–97 and 32–4 in 1997–98, with the 1998 team advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight.
During the 1996–97 season, Chappell appeared in 31 games off the bench and averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game while shooting over 40 percent from the field.
In the 1997–98 season, he appeared in 35 games and averaged 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game, increasing his role in Duke’s rotation and contributing on the defensive end in ACC play.
Across his two seasons at Duke, he played in 66 total games, recording over 200 career points and contributing as a perimeter defender in multiple NCAA Tournament contests.
Chappell transferred to Michigan State University in the fall of 1998 and sat out the 1998–99 season due to NCAA transfer rules before becoming eligible for the 1999–2000 campaign.
Under the leadership of Tom Izzo, he joined a Michigan State team that went 32–7 in 1999–2000, won the Big Ten Tournament, and captured the NCAA National Championship.
During the 1999–2000 season, Chappell appeared in 38 games and averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game while contributing perimeter shooting depth for a roster that included Morris Peterson, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, and future NBL players Adam Ballinger and Dave Thomas.
Michigan State advanced through the NCAA Tournament with wins over Valparaiso, Utah, Syracuse, Iowa State, and Florida to secure the national title in 2000.
In his senior season (2000–01), Chappell played in 36 games and averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as Michigan State finished 28–5, won the Big Ten regular-season title, and advanced to the Final Four.
Across his two playing seasons at Michigan State, he competed in 74 games, contributing perimeter scoring, defensive versatility, and depth for a program that reached the Final Four in 2001 and won the NCAA National Title in 2000.
After being recruited heavily by the top universities in America, Mike Chappell attended college at Duke University from 1996–1998 and was coached under Mike Krzyzewski.
Chappelle started in over half of their games in 1998.
Chappell transferred to Michigan State University in the fall of 1998.
Under the leadership of Tom Izzo, Chappell contributed to a dynamic team that won the NCAA National Title in 2000 and made it to the Final Four in 2001.
His Michigan State teammates included future NBL stars Adam Ballinger and Dave Thomas.
Additional Info: After being recruited heavily by the top universities in America, Mike Chappell attended college at Duke University from 1996–1998 and was coached under Mike Krzyzewski.
Chappelle started in over half of their games in 1998.
Chappell transferred to Michigan State University in the fall of 1998. Under the leadership of Tom Izzo, Chappell contributed to a dynamic team that won the NCAA National Title in 2000 and made it to the Final Four in 2001. His Michigan State teammates included future NBL stars Adam Ballinger and Dave Thomas.
AWARDS
- 1x All-NBL Third Team
Related
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