‘The one we were waiting for’: Campus star Sterling Chapman thrilled by WSU offer
Growing up in Wichita, the Gregg Marshall-coached teams at Wichita State have been Sterling Chapman’s introduction to Division I basketball.
His father, Les, owned season tickets at Koch Arena and the family is huge Shocker fans, well before Sterling grew to be a 6-foot-5 all-state player at Campus good enough for Marshall to call personally on Wednesday to offer a scholarship in the recruiting class of 2021.
So when Wichita State became the fifth Division I team to offer Chapman, the family admitted it meant a little something extra.
“I’ve grown up inspired as a Wichita State fan, so I know how great of a program it is,” Sterling Chapman said. “I watched all of their games and been to Koch Arena and I felt that energy in the crowd and I dreamed of one day being in a position to be on that court. To even have the opportunity to play for my hometown team, that’s a blessing.”
“This is the one we were kind of waiting for,” Les Chapman, his father, said. “Wichita State is close to our heart. It’s where we’re from. I think every kid wants to have that offer from where he’s from. I think Sterling recognizes the impact what it means for himself and what it means for Wichita. I could tell he was a little emotional to finally get that reward for the work he’s been putting in.”
Chapman is coming off a junior campaign at Campus where he led the Colts to a perfect 23-0 record before the coronavirus pandemic stopped their season in semifinals of the Class 6A tournament. It was the first win at state for Campus since 1989, as Chapman averaged 17.7 points and 6.5 rebounds to earn all-state and all-Metro honors.
Although Chapman has yet to be evaluated by a major recruiting service, it’s clear he will soon be rated by Rivals and 247 Sports after he picked up offers from Wichita State, SMU and Tulsa. The other two offers are from Coastal Carolina and Grand Canyon.
None of it has surprised Campus coach Chris Davis, who has known the Chapman family since Sterling was in middle school.
“I knew this kid was something special since I saw him play in middle school,” Davis said. “I’ve been around long enough to know there’s just something about him. He’s got the ‘it’ factor. Some people just have it and he has it.
“The best thing about Sterling is he’s so competitive. He’s not going to go down without a fight. For a young kid to be that competitive, it just blows me away sometimes. It’s every drill, every shooting game, whatever the case may be, he wants to win it. He’s a winner and that’s the ultimate compliment I can give him.”
At the Division I level, Chapman projects to be a versatile guard capable of being a primary or secondary creator. He has tremendous lift on his jumper and is an explosive athlete. What makes him the ideal Marshall recruit is that Chapman uses that athleticism and length to be a dogged defender and could guard multiple positions at the next level.
WSU has been monitoring Chapman since he arrived at Campus and assistant coach Lou Gudino has taken the lead in the recruitment. On Wednesday, Gudino gave Chapman a phone call with Marshall also on the line to officially extend the offer. The Shockers are slated to have at least two scholarships in their 2021 class with seniors Alterique Gilbert and Trey Wade graduating next spring.
While the Shockers have consistently had a local presence on their team over the years, a Wichita native finishing their prep career locally hasn’t joined WSU out of high school since Heights graduate Evan Wessel in 2011.
“Honestly, it just makes me want to grind even harder and improve even more,” Chapman said. “It’s a big statement for me to get these offers, especially this one. This has been the big one on the list that we’ve been looking for. Now I want to grind even more.”
That’s the kind of mentality that Les Chapman has worked hard to instill in his son.
After reaching out to Ron Baker’s father, Neil, to talk about the Wichita State experience, Les Chapman believes Sterling would excel under a coach like Marshall.
“Sterling has always been an underdog, blue-collar kind of kid,” Les Chapman said. “I know playing for coach Marshall is hard. It ain’t for everybody. But I told coach, ‘You don’t have to change a thing for us. Sterling can handle that.’ You can think what you want, but Marshall is a winner. Period.”
The summer before a prospect’s senior year is always the most crucial for their recruitment, but the coronavirus pandemic has put those summer plans on hold for Chapman and other 2021 prospects.
With no guarantee of showcasing his talents on a bigger stage this summer, Chapman wants to take the recruiting process slow. He’s still evaluating his options and researching the schools interested in him.
But there’s no doubt the WSU offer on Wednesday was a special moment for him and his family.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve always felt like I was an underdog,” Sterling Chapman said. “My dad has built that hunger in me to always want to be the best and not settle for anything less. So growing up being coached hard by my dad, that hunger was always in me to work hard because I knew that someone else was always out there working just as hard as me.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 8:31 AM.
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