Looking to do damage

Jill Chapman arrived in Bloomington three years ago as the skinny, lofty predecessor of one of the more-celebrated players for IU women's basketball.\nChapman, a 6-foot-5 center, started immediately in place of departed center Quacy Barnes, now playing for the WNBA's Seattle Storm.\nAn All-Big Ten selection in 1998, Barnes established an IU record with 269 blocked shots and finished eighth on the all-time scoring list with 1,428 points. \nAn All-Big Ten selection in 2002, Chapman has 186 blocks and has surpassed Barnes with 1,802 points. More importantly, she has established a name for herself, evolving into one of the Big Ten's premier players during her career and molding herself into WNBA material.\n Scouts from nearly every WNBA team have checked out the Hoosiers this season, with personnel from the Detroit Shock and Cleveland Rockers the more frequent visitors. Most likely, they have Chapman, who has averaged 16.1 points and 9.1 rebounds this season, under a microscope.\n That's just where Chapman wants to be.\n "I'll have to see if I'm drafted," said Chapman, who tallied 30 points and 11 rebounds against Wisconsin with at least eight WNBA scouts in the crowd. "I want to play anywhere I can over the summer. I'll play overseas if I have to over the summer. I don't want to hang up my basketball shoes just yet."\nSome Big Ten coaches can't wait for the senior, who led the conference with 13 double-doubles this season, to hang up her Nikes.\n"I can talk about how glad I am that she's a senior. I'll start right there," Ohio State coach Beth Burns said. "We probably helped her get that Big Ten award. I think she's been terrific. She's really flourished under Coach (Kathi) Bennett. She runs the floor. She guards people.\n"I would hope for her sake that she can continue on and, hopefully, we will be seeing her play during the summers."\nChapman said she hopes to play in the WNBA for a few years while teaching physical education during her time off. She'd also like to try coaching. She said she has no particular WNBA team in mind, but her family wants her to stay close to her hometown of Montpelier, Ind.\n And the WNBA might push back her wedding date. Her boyfriend of more than a year, Cody Daily, proposed to her after Sunday's game against Northwestern at Assembly Hall. \n Despite an already gaudy college career, Chapman said she still has some unfinished business. Her fifth-seeded Hoosiers begin the Big Ten tournament today with a noon matchup against fourth-seeded Iowa.\n A loss could end Chapman's career because the team would wind up with a .500 record. And IU over the years hasn't had too much success in the tournament, falling in the quarterfinals last year to the Hawkeyes and never reaching beyond the quarterfinals in Chapman's three years. \n Still, Chapman remains hopeful -- and prolific in the same tournaments. She averaged 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds against Minnesota and Iowa in last year's tournament. Her game has progressed most rapidly under two-year coach Bennett's system.\n"Her footwork is so much better," associate head coach Trish Betthauser said. "We've asked her to be on a high side and jump when the ball enters. That's crucial, and she's shown that she can be a great defender even at the next level."\nChapman's amount of blocked shots has increased in particular during her career, improving from 36 her freshman year to 50 last year to 58 this year. After leading the Big Ten in blocks with 2.15 per game, Chapman stands out as one of the Big Ten's few true centers.\n"I know Mary Jo Noon at Purdue is truly a center," Betthauser said. "Most of the post players in the Big Ten that start for their teams step out and do a lot for their teams away from the block. I think that's what sets Jill apart. She's really good with her back to the basket. When she sets her mind on it, she's going to dominate that lane area."\nBurns said Chapman also has become a smarter player as well.\n"When she was younger you used to be able to go at her and get her in foul trouble and get her on the bench," Burns said. "She's improved her defensive game"