Ball State University Athletics
Goals Set High For Chapman & Cardinals
November 04, 2004 | Men's Basketball
The goal is simple for Terrance Chapman.
"Leading this team to a Mid-American Conference Championship and to the NCAA Tournament," Chapman says prior to a recent practice in Worthen Arena. "Everyone on this team, especially the seniors, knows what we have to do."
For outsiders to the program, the goal could seem a bit lofty. The Cardinals' last postseason run was the program's longest ever, advancing to the elite eight of the 2002 National Invitation Tournament. Ball State's last trip to the NCAA Tournament was in 2000. The drought is one Chapman hopes to change.
"This is only my second year here, but I know the tradition of Ball State basketball," Chapman says. "I know how hard the guys on this team worked over the summer. There is not one player who doesn't practice hard every day and who does not believe in the other. We are a close team."
Chapman's first year was one where the 6-foot-6 forward played in all of BSU's 29 games, including 15 starts. He finished the year averaging 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He scored 10-or-more points in 10 games last season. To end the 2004 season, Chapman scored in double figures in four straight contests, starting the stretch with a career-high 18 points at Bowling Green. After games of 10 and 13 points, he chipped in 15 in the Cardinals' first-round tournament win over Akron.
"Terrance sees the game like Theron Smith did," says Ball State head coach Tim Buckley. "He can have the same effect on the game. All of our seniors are crucial to any success we might have, but Terrance has the ability to be an impact player for us. The method or way he may impact a game could be different, but the end result of being a major factor for us is the same."
Smith who Buckley refers to is entering his second season in the National Basketball Association. After playing last year as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Smith was selected in the NBA Expansion Draft and is now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats.
"I don't see that as an added pressure," Chapman says. "I know my ability and in order to deliver I have to bring it every game. Theron is a great player and he made it to the postseason. He was able to do something that we all want."
During his playing days at Lincoln Community College, Chapman was named the College Conference of Central Illinois Player of the Year after averaging 19.6 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game. Now entering his second season at Ball State, he believes those consistent performances will return.
"I am much more comfortable this year," Chapman says. "In a lot of ways last season was a learning experience for me. Not just in basketball, but in other areas. I learned a lot about myself. Now, as a senior and with experience, I know what to expect."
Those expectations are shared by Chapman's fellow seniors -- Michael Bennett, Matt McCollom and Dennis Trammell.
McCollom, a two-time MAC Academic First-Team selection, has started 87 games for the Cardinals in the three previous seasons, including 27 games a year ago. He had 12 double-figure scoring games, including three of over 20 points. Trammell started 28 games in 2003-04 and paced the team with his 13.2 points per game to rank 18th in the league in scoring. He has 19 double-figure scoring games, including five with 20-or-more points. Bennett played in 26 games last season and in 83 over his career.
"The best college teams have the best senior leadership," Buckley says. "Those four guys have to provide consistency for us. Over the previous years, they have done a great job of getting the work ethic in tact. I think we are a team that plays hard and now the next step is we have to play and compete on a daily basis."
Chapman will also see another goal realized next spring. The criminal justice major will become the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He will join McCollom and Bennett, current college graduates, and Trammell, who will earn his degree in December.
Chapman and the Cardinals open the regular season Nov. 23 on a neutral court in Cincinnati, Ohio, against perennial power Kentucky. A 14-game regular-season home schedule awaits the team in Muncie, while a Dec. 28 tilt against Indiana will be played at Conseco Fieldhouse — the NBA home of the Indiana Pacers.
