He has one of the best, most apropos nicknames ever bestowed on a UD player. He’s Velvet in every sense of the word.
His most defining performance came in the 1984 NCAA Tournament when he led the overlooked, undersized Flyers to the Elite Eight, a David-slays-Goliath run that began in Salt Lake City, the same place the current Flyers (24-7) will make their NCAA Tournament debut with a Thursday afternoon game against Nevada.
But here are some things you might not know about the now 61-year-old Chapman, who’s spent the past 12 ½ years in South Dakota, where he taught and coached basketball at the Crazy Horse School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and lived with his late wife Bobbi, the “love” of his life:
- Chapman said he used to cut the hair of the guy he considers his “little brother,” his UD teammate Anthony Grant: “When I was growing up back in Brooklyn, the barbers got so expensive, so I invested in a clippers and started cutting my own hair. And I still do. At UD I used to cut Anthony’s hair and Dave Colbert’s and Sedric Toney’s, too. I just wanted us to look good on the court.”
- The sport where he now displays a velvety touch is pool: “When I first moved to Sioux Falls, I asked a native, ‘What is there to do here?’ and he said, ‘Either throw darts or shoot pool.’ I haven’t thrown a dart, but I shoot pool…a lot. I play in leagues, tournaments, all sorts of matches across different states, places like Iowa and Nebraska. I really enjoy it.”
- His hoops display was so heavenly in Salt Lake City, it led to something of a religious conversion: “When we went out there to play, I’d never really seen that many Mormons in one place. After a while they all were rooting for us.”
When asked whether that made him some kind of roundball proselyte — helping get Mormons to follow the Catholic school — he laughed and then offered a better example of gaining followers for the Flyers:
“When I first got to Dayton, I remember there was a train track that used to separate the West Side from the East Side. When I used to look in the stands at our games, I didn’t see too many people of color.
“But I used to go over to Princeton Park and Roosevelt to play basketball and guys would come up and say, ‘I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re a Flyer. We don’t come to see UD play, we come to see you play.’
“I always like to think I played a part in making those tracks come together.”
As coach Don Donoher, who recruited Chapman out of Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn once told me: “He had all kinds of charisma. He was just a popular, popular kid from the time he got here.”
Four decades later that popularity remains.
The Board of Montgomery County Commissioners recently designated March 14 as the annual Roosevelt Chapman Day in the county.
And early this season when the Flyers met Grambling State at UD Arena, the 1984 team — both players and coaches, including then 91-year-old head coach Don Donoher — was honored on the court at halftime.
Grant, a freshman on the squad, left the locker room early to join his old teammates as the sold-out crowd roared.
As the players left the court, they met up with the current team and they exchanged handshakes.
Thursday, Flyers fans can only hope some of that velvety magic from 40 years past rubbed off and will show itself again in Salt Lake City.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Don’t challenge Velvet
Chapman follows the current Flyers team and especially Grant: “He was a freshman when I was a senior. He played behind me (in games) and against me in practice every day. He became quite a player himself. And he’s a great coach. I really like him and think he’s doing a great job.”
When he saw the Flyers were returning to Salt Lake City, he said: “It was a déjà vu moment.”
“If I’m not mistaken, I believe we were the very last team to make the NCAA Tournament that year,” he said. “There were only 53 teams in the tournament then and we were like No. 53.
“Did we have a chip on our shoulders? I believe we did. We were an independent team (from a small TV market). I believe we got overlooked.
“I remember thinking, ‘The world’s gonna get a chance to see the UD Flyers. Back then there weren’t a lot of televised games, but now we were going to be playing on national television.
“The world was going to see a mid-major team overrun some of the top-seeded teams.”
And that’s just what happened.
“I’m a guy who loves challenges,” Chapman said. “I love to play against rivals, and I found one with LSU.,
“They had a player named Jerry (Ice) Reynolds and he had played against me in a big rivalry back in high school in Brooklyn. So that was my motivation. More than LSU really.”
The Flyers topped No. 7 seed LSU, 74-66, in the opener as Chapman made 10 of 15 field goal attempts and all nine of his free throws for 29 points.
“He was virtually unstoppable,” LSU forward Don Redden said afterward.
“He was a man against boys,” said teammate Sedric Toney. “He was freaky-deaky.”
The victory meant the Flyers would meet mighty Oklahoma in the second round in Salt Lake City.
“Before the game, I remember Donoher and I were at the podium and there were maybe 200 or more sportswriters and other media types there,” Chapman said. “All the questions had been for Donoher, but the last one came to me.
“A reporter said, ‘Roosevelt, you luckily got past LSU, how do you feel about going against No. 2 seed Oklahoma University and their All-American Wayman Tisdale?’
“I got offended when he said ‘luckily.’
“And I just came out with it. I said, ‘We’re gonna see who the real All-American is!’
“Donoher just looked at me and smiled. He knew what my talent was.”
As Donoher put it back then:
“He has remarkable hands. He’ll catch anything that comes his way. He has amazing balance. He’s made shots that you’d compare to those made by Jullus Erving. Sometimes, he’ll spin them off the board like a pool player putting spin on the ball. He’s made shots people around here are in awe of. He’ll go at anybody and score on anybody.”
Chapman said the press conference snub was perfect: “I needed challenges and that was all the motivation I needed.”
He made 13 of 22 field goal attempts and 15 of 19 free throws against the Sooners. His 41-point outburst lifted the Flyers to a stunning 89-85 victory.
Afterward Tisdale, who finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds, called Chapman “a great player.” “I really liked Wayman Tisdale’s game,” Chapman said. “I liked his personality, and I liked his aura off the court. He played bass guitar, and I played bass, as well.”
Chapman scored 22 points in the Flyers’ next victory over Washington and then had 13 when UD fell to eventual champions Georgetown.
Although he didn’t play in the Final Four, he scored the most points in the tournament (105) and a few years ago Hall of Fame Magazine rated him No. 7 all-time among Cinderella performances in the NCAA Tournament.
Flyers must get gritty
For the current Flyers to succeed in this year’s tournament, Chapman had a few thoughts:
“My advice to them is top get more gritty. They’re smaller and not as strong as some of the big teams in the Big Ten and Big 12
“They have to do like we did. We were small. Our front line was 6-foot-4, 6-6 and 6-7. When we played Washington, they were 6-10, 6-10 and 7-foot.
“So, we boxed out hard. We took away their center of gravity. We were grittier. We made our free throws and tried to shoot high percentage field goals. If you do that, you have a higher probability of winning.”
Chapman still plays basketball three times a week at a YMCA. The other guys in the games are usually 30 to 40 years old.
To that, he said with a laugh: “There’s still some Velvet left.”
His wife is what drew him to South Dakota and now that she has passed, he’s thinking about moving back to Dayton. His son lives here and his two grandchildren — twins, a boy, and a girl — are freshman basketball players at Northmont.
“My wife was the better half of me,” he said. “But now I believe she’d love for me to be closer to my family.”
And here’s one other thing about Chapman:
He’s a big dog lover.
“I’ve got a 160-pound mastiff and a 100-pound pit mastiff. They’re my family up here now,” he said, then laughed. “And when I walk down the street with them people cross and walk on the other side.”
They likely worry the dogs are like their master.
As the Oklahoma Sooners of 40 years ago can attest.
On the court, Roosevelt Chapman’s bite eclipsed even his pregame bark.
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