Posted by Jason Massey - Thu, Feb 28, 2008 - [Men's Basketball] - Viewed 384 times
Bluefield, Va. -- Jason Gillespie, head men's basketball coach, and James Chapman, a
senior on the Ramblin' Rams basketball team, each reached career milestones in
recent days.
Gillespie
recorded the 100th win of his collegiate coaching career on February 16 when BC
defeated UVa-Wise 92-82.
Gillespie began
his coaching career at Cincinnati Christian University (CCU) and during his
two-year stint there, he compiled a 39-32 record.
Gillespie
accepted the call to become Bluefield College's head coach in 2005 and has had
tremendous success during his first three seasons here.
In Gillespie's
inaugural campaign, he posted a 19-13 mark, which was followed up by a 21-12
record last season. He also led the Rams to the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II National Tournament in 2006-2007.
Since becoming
a member of the century club, Gillespie has posted three more victories as BC
currently stands at 24-6 with another national tournament appearance well
within reach.
On senior day
(February 23), James Chapman surpassed the 1,000-point plateau when he
drained a 3-pointer midway through the first half. He finished with a
team-high 22 points as Bluefield defeated Virginia Intermont 96-94.
Chapman -- who
ironically enough has a close connection with Gillespie from years past before
they both arrived at Bluefield -- was initially recruited by his mentor when
both were at King College in Bristol, Tennessee. Gillespie was an
assistant coach at the time.
Chapman spent
his first two years at King -- which, along with Bluefield, is an AAC member.
The 6'0 guard
from Chattanooga, Tenn. was productive during his time at King, but didn't feel
he fit in quite the way he needed to and decided to transfer, winding up at
Bluefield under the direction of Gillespie.
After sitting
out a season due to NAIA regulations, Chapman immediately became a key member
of the Ramblin' Rams basketball team.
Chapman
averaged 12 points per game in 2006-2007, which ranked third on the team.
So far in
2007-2008, Chapman holds steady at 11.2 ppg and has increased his production in
five major categories (rebounds, assists, steals, FG %, FT %).