March 10, 2008

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 %).