A 6'8" power forward/center, Chappell was a star at Wake Forest University, where he was a teammate of future broadcaster Billy Packer He helped lead the Demon Deacons to a third-place finish in the 1962 NCAA tournament and was named ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1961 and 1962.

In 1962, he became Wake Forest's first consensus All-American[2] He was the ACC tournament's all-time leading scorer until Duke University's J. J. Redick surpassed him in 2006.

Chappell was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team in 2002, honoring him as one of the 50 greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

[2] He left New York in 1966 and played for the Chicago Bulls, Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Atlanta Hawks.

While on the Bucks during their inaugural season, on December 19, 1968, he scored a career-best 35 points during a 113–111 loss to the Chicago Bulls.