‘It feels good to be back’ — former Flyer Chatman returns to UD Arena for TBT

The Flyers finished 29-2 in 2019-20, but the COVID-19 pandemic cost it a chance to shine in the postseason. The following season, limits on indoor gatherings during the pandemic resulted in the smallest crowds ever at UD Arena. Players didn’t even get to stand on the court with their families on Senior Night.

Chatman practiced with the UD alumni team, the Red Scare, in front of about 150 fans Sunday. He will see a much larger crowd on the same court Wednesday in the first round of The Basketball Tournament when the No. 1 seed Red Scare play No. 8 India Rising at 8 p.m.

Like the former Flyers who stepped on the court last year at the TBT for the first time since their college days, the sense of nostalgia was strong for Chatman.

“It was amazing,” Chatman said. “I walked out of the tunnel and was thinking about all the memories and experiences. It was just like a family here. It feels good to be back.”

Chatman joins a growing list of former Flyers who have played for the Red Scare.

• The 2019 team included Kevin Dillard, Vee Sanford, Devin Oliver, Kyle Davis, Kendall Pollard and Darrell Davis. That team won two games before losing to the Ohio State team, Carmen’s Crew, at Capital University in Bexley.

• The 2020 team played in a quarantined environment at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. It was the first major sporting event played during the pandemic.

Ryan Mikesell and Trey Landers made their TBT debuts, months after the end of their college careers. Oliver, Pollard, Kyle Davis and Darrell Davis played for the second straight year. One other former Flyer, Jalen Robinson, was on the roster. The team reached the semifinals with two victories.

• In 2021, the Red Scare added former Flyers Jordan Sibert and Devon Scott to mix. They joined Oliver, Darrell Davis, Pollard, Landers and Mikesell. That team finished 1-1 at Ohio State’s Covelli Center.

• Last year, Scoochie Smith decided to play for the Red Scare again. He joined Darrell Davis, Landers, Mikesell, Sanford and Josh Cunningham, who also made his TBT debut. The team won four games before losing in the semifinals at UD Arena.

• The 2023 team includes Chatman, Sibert, Smith, Mikesell, Darrell Davis (the only player who has been on the roster every year) and also Chris Wright, who is on the roster but undecided about playing.

Playing in the tournament is not always an easy decision for professional players like Chatman. There’s an injury risk and no guarantee of financial gain because only one of the 64 teams takes home the $1 million prize.

“Last year, I was watching them the whole time,” Chatman said. “I was thinking about it last year, but I wanted to get my career started first. This year, it was an easy decision. It’s a good way to stay in shape before I go overseas.”

Chatman, a 6-foot-1 guard from Lithonia, Ga., started his pro career with Naestved in Denmark last season. He averaged 19.1 points and 4.3 assists in 38 games.

“It was great,” Chatman said. “We made it to the finals for the first time ever in team history. The fans were nice and welcomed me. I enjoyed my time there.”

It’s common for Americans to bounce from country to country in Europe, changing teams every year, and Chatman will spend his second season in Poland. He signed with Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski earlier this month.

Chatman spent six seasons in the college game. He played his first two seasons at Chattanooga, transferred to Dayton in May 2018 and sat out the 2018-19 season, one of the last seasons in which a player had to sit out after transferring.

In the 2019-20 season, Chatman was one of three players, along with Obi Toppin and Mikesell, to start all 31 games. He led the team in steals (1.3 per game), ranked second in assists (3.2) and sixth in scoring (7.7).

A hand injury limited Chatman to 12 games in his final season with Dayton. Then, as a grad transfer, he played one more season at Vanderbilt, where he ran into his old team in the second round of the NIT in 2022. He’ll always be connected to one of the greatest UD teams in history, though. He visited his former coach, Anthony Grant, and the rest of the staff and the current Flyers on Saturday and remains in touch with his former UD teammates.

“It means a lot,” Chatman said. “We still talk to this day. We still talk about the day we found out the season was canceled. But that’s why I wanted to come back out here and play in front of these fans again and try to win that million.”