On college basketball teams across the nation, few players with junior standing are more than a year older than anyone else on the team.
However, that is the case with the Wisconsin basketball team this season, as junior forward/center Jason Chappell has finally gotten his opportunity to play some substantial minutes and even start.
'It definitely feels good, it's something that I've been waiting a while for,' Chappell said. 'It's nice to finally see all the hard work pay off [and] get some time on the court.'
The New Berlin, WI native's fourth year in the program seems primed to be a productive one. After getting very little playing time his freshman and sophomore seasons (he used a medical redshirt in 2003), Chappell's chance to establish himself has come. Last summer he played on the Big Ten foreign tour team, and has shown marked improvement in practice and in Saturday's exhibition game.
'He was starting the other night, so that says that he's been doing some good things, we believe in him,' head coach Bo Ryan said. 'Jason's been doing some things that have put him in a position to be on the floor.'
'The past few offseasons, I have taken some specifics and done them but this offseason it was mainly to get better all-around, strength, shooting, posting,' Chappell said.
As the oldest player on the team, Chappell is able to instill his wisdom into some of the younger players as well. With only four upperclassmen on the team, that is a vital characteristic to own, especially as a guy that has been in the program and system for a long time.
'The swing: it's a simple offense if you just look at it, but there's so many different reads and so many different things you can do out of it; that's what you've got to get used to,' Chappell said. 'So I definitely help out the freshman, tell them if I see a spot where they can beat the guy, or if they need to be in a certain spot.'
Off the basketball court, Chappell has quite the interesting hobby. Four summers ago, he started printing off his own clothing line, aptly named 'JCHEEZY.' Strictly a t-shirt line for now, Chappell hopes to enlarge development in the future. For the present, though, Chappell will keep his sights on this season and the ever bothersome studying.
'I haven't had much time to put much work into it like I wanted to, but it's going,' Chappell said. 'I'd still like to get a website up sometime, but right now I'm just focused on school and basketball.'
Alongside junior star Alando Tucker, improving junior point guard Kammron Taylor, lone senior Ray Nixon and an abundance of talented underclassmen, Chappell and Co. should prove some people who have written off the Badgers wrong. With a Big Ten that is weaker than it may have been in seasons passed, Wisconsin could surprise some people.
The Badgers' final exhibition game is on Monday against Lawrence at the Kohl Center and their season starts Friday, November 18 versus Norfolk State in St. Thomas, Va.
