Len Chappell, Portage's gift to the ACC -- and the NBA

... one of the best players ever 

Legend has it that he practiced his soft jump shot in a family barn located in the Martindale / Puritan area of Portage Township. That is the reason that it had a somewhat flat trajectory to it.

However he practiced it, Len Chappell became one of the greatest players in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and one of its most prolific scorers, eventually winning the ACC Player of the Year Award twice as well as becoming a two-time All-American at Wake Forest University.

It was a long trek from Martindale to Winston-Salem, N.C., but the 6-8, 240-pound center attracted the attention of a coach by the name of Horace (Bones) McKinney. A smooth communicator, McKinney sweet-talked Chappell with his lore about the ACC being the greatest conference in the country -- and why he should experience it with the Demon Deacons.

After playing for Coach Jim Hess and scoring 2,240 points in his career with the Portage Mustangs, finishing it with a 977-point performance in his senior season, Chappell followed McKinney south after he graduated from Portage in 1958, and both were thrilled with the result.

Billy Packer

How good was Chappell? His point guard, who was once ubiquitous at this time of year as the CBS college basketball analyst, Billy Packer, said this about Chappell: "Incredible speed, incredible hands, ability to score inside, ability to punish people, ability to shoot outside, ability to rebound in traffic. Not only do I think he’s the greatest player at Wake, he’s also one of the greatest to ever play intercollegiate basketball."

Chappell scored 2,165 points for the Demon Deacons, which set a new record for the school, and he also pulled down 1,213 rebounds. In his senior season, he set a scoring record in 1961-62 that has still never been equaled in the conference. He scored 932 points that year, but his average of 30.1 per game is still an ACC record for a season. He also pulled down 15 rebounds a game.

Best teams of Bones' career

McKinney knew what he had when he enticed the big man from Portage to join his Demon Deacons, and Chappell delivered. He led to Wake to the NCAA Tournament twice, in his junior season in 1961 and in his senior season in 1962 when they reached the Final Four.

In 1962, the Demon Deacons fell to Ohio State, 84-68, in the semifinals. They rebounded to win the third-place game, defeating John Wooden's UCLA squad, 82-80. The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Ohio State in the title game, 71-59.

The Demon Deacons defeated Yale (92-82), St. Joseph's (96-85), and Villanova (79-69) in the East regional to reach the Final Four that year.

Honors

He earned first-team All-American honors in 1961 and was a consensus pick in 1962 by the AP, and he also earned first-team honors by the Basketball Writers of America and the Newspaper Enterprise Association, according to his bio on the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame website. He was inducted there in 1965.

Chappell was also selected as the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1962.

NBA

After finishing his college career, Chappell was drafted in the first round -- fourth overall -- by the Syracuse Nationals. That started an 11-year professional career with ten different teams. He scored 5,621 points in his professional career.

He was selected to play in the NBA all-star game in 1964.

His best year in the NBA was 1968-69 when he averaged 26.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Milwaukee Bucks. He later remained in Milwaukee where he opened a sporting goods store.

Chappell averaged 17.9 points per game in his professional career.

Area

No basketball player from Cambria County accomplished what Chappell did in his college and professional career. His numbers are amazing. He was not just big, but also smooth.

His challenge in the NBA was that he was not a great defensive player. Since they played man exclusively, that was hard on him. He was still a force offensively.

Humility

I have not talked with nor interviewed Len since 2004. That was the year in which Portage dedicated its gymnasium in his honor. They had a very nice dinner in his honor there and had a ceremony at the school in which they named it the Len Chappell Gymnasium.

However, the one thing that I will always remember for both interviews is how humble he was. Many times, athletes who have accomplished what he had become arrogant, in love with themselves.

Len was the opposite. He always expressed his gratitude to those who had helped him along the way, whether they were his teammates, coaches, or family and friends. He never forgot others who had made him what he became.

That is a special trait.

Overall

According to his bio on Wikipedia, he is now 76. He had suffered a stroke before his honor in 2004, so his interview that time was not as good as previous ones had been. His recall was not as good as it had been previously, though he was still playing golf and getting around very well.

He had two sons who played college basketball, and both were big men. However, neither was as good as the old man had been.

Len Chappell was a special player -- and a very good human being.