Lamar Chapman is in his ninth season with the Stony Brook men's basketball program. He served as an assistant coach for eight season under previous head coach Steve Pikiell, after being named to the position in July 2008. Chapman has helped turn the Seawolves program into a perennial powerhouse in America East. The Seawolves have captured four conference regular season championships, the 2016 America East Tournament championship and earned national postseason berths six times in Chapman's time at Stony Brook, including the program's first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016.Â
Chapman is a top recruiter, having played a large role in the recruitment of Muhammad El-Amin, who was the 2010 America East Player of the Year. On the court, Chapman works primarily with the wings and has been responsible for the development of two America East Players of the Year -- El-Amin and Tommy Brenton.
Chapman came to Stony Brook after two years on the University of Toledo men's basketball coaching staff where he was involved in all facets of the program, including on-floor coaching, recruiting, scheduling, academic support, individual conditioning workouts and scouting.
In his first season at Toledo, Chapman helped the program capture its first MAC regular-season title in 27 years, as well as make its fourth NIT appearance in a nine-year span. He also coached All-MAC honorees Keonta Howell, Justin Ingram and Florentino Valencia, as well as 2006-07 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Kashif Payne.
Chapman arrived at Toledo following a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Central Michigan University. Prior to his stay in Mt. Pleasant, Chapman served as head coach at his alma mater, Muskegon Heights High School, where he posted a 42-9 ledger and reached the state semifinals each year. The Tigers posted a 21-5 record in 2002 and won district and regional titles before falling to the eventual state champion. For his efforts, Chapman was named the Muskegon Chronicle Area "Coach of the Year."
In 2003, MHHS was 21-4 and repeated as district and regional champion before advancing to the state finals where it lost to Grand Rapids South Christian. During his tenure at Muskegon Heights, Chapman coached five student-athletes who received college scholarships.
A native of Muskegon Heights, Michigan, Chapman was a four-year starting guard at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He received his Bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education from Lane in 1993. He was the school's Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992, and was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
