Top 50 Kentucky Wildcats Prior to John Calipari Era
Oct 16, 2014; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari watches his team practice during media day at Joe Craft Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
20. Rex Chapman
The Owensboro, Kentucky native, Rex Chapman played for the Kentucky Wildcats from 1986-1988.
Chapman was named to the All-SEC Team during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Chapman and Wildcat teammate led Kentucky to their 37th SEC title with a 27-6 record during his sophomore season.
The Wildcats were ranked as the 6th college basketball team in the nation by the Associated Press and UPI and secured the number two seed in the South region of the 1988 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. They were beat by the Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet 16. Chapman scored 30 in a losing effort. Chapman scored a total of 1,073 points in only two years at Kentucky before opting to enter the NBA Draft, a major accomplishment, as it took a lot of players up to four years to reach the 1000 point club.
Chapman had a long tenure in the NBA, where he played from 1988-2000.
Here’s a look at his NBA journey:
- 1988-92: Charotte Hornets
- 1992-95: Washington Bullets
- 1995-96: Miami Heat
- 1996-00: Phoenix Suns
He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie team during the 1988 season. During his tenure in the NBA he scored 9,731 points, averaging 14.6 per game, 1,645 rebounds, averaging 2.5 per game and 1,798 assists, averaging 2.7 per game. Pretty solid numbers for the long career.
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