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.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.