Campus star Sterling Chapman flips commitment from WSU, signs with AAC rival Tulsa
Campus star Sterling Chapman won’t play for Wichita State in college, but he will stay in the American Athletic Conference.
Five days after decommitting from the Shockers because of the uncertainty surrounding Gregg Marshall, who resigned as WSU men’s basketball coach Tuesday, Chapman announced Wednesday that he will sign his letter of intent with Tulsa.
Chapman, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who’s rated a three-star prospect in the class of 2021, led Campus to a 23-0 record before the coronavirus pandemic stopped their season in the 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 and earned all-state and all-metro honors.
“I will always be a Wichita State fan and I love Wichita State, but it just didn’t work out for me,” Chapman said at his signing Wednesday afternoon at Wichita Hoops. “I’ll show love to the city when I come back, but at the end of the day we still have to play ball. I’ll show love off the court, but on the court it’s mano a mano.”
Chapman originally made a verbal pledge to WSU on Oct. 6, but Les Chapman, Sterling’s father, said his son was never given a letter of intent from WSU last Wednesday when the early signing period opened. Les Chapman said the family still stands behind Marshall, but believes joining Tulsa is the best decision for Sterling’s future.
That was made easier by the relationship built with Tulsa head coach Frank Haith, who the family said continued his support to Sterling even after he had committed to WSU.
“He said he would support me whatever I decided, even if it was at Wichita State,” Sterling Chapman said. “I respected him for that. He wasn’t like, ‘Forget this kid, onto the next.’ He stuck with me.
“Basically, we built a great relationship and he’s been with me since A1 day one.”
Les Chapman said that Haith envisions Sterling as a player who can make an immediate impact.
“Coach Haith has a style where he likes to play big guards,” Les Chapman said. “He’s going to look for him to be a scorer. He wants him to play right away. That was a real big difference in us making this decision and turning over this decision pretty fast, instead of waiting to see what’s going to happen with Wichita State.
“But don’t get us wrong, we’re still Wichita State in our heart.”
Much like the WSU coaching staff, the Tulsa coaching staff fell in love with Chapman’s versatility in a 6-5 frame. He can play on the ball or off the ball. He’s a dogged defender who is committed on that end of the floor and he’s just an overall smooth player who shows a high IQ as a playmaker.
“Sterling is a multifaceted player,” Haith told the Tulsa World. “He can play either guard position and has the tenacity to help you win any way possible. He is obviously a tremendous scorer and can score at all three levels.”
Campus coach Chris Davis thinks Chapman is an ideal fit for Tulsa.
“I’ve seen Tulsa play when they come and play at Wichita State and from afar, Tulsa has been a great program,” Davis said. “You think of Paul Pressey and Shea Seals and the great players who they’ve had in the past. Sterling is going to go there and I’m sure the town is going to love him and I really do think he could eventually end up being one of the all-time greats that they’ve had.”
Sterling Chapman said being able to sign a letter of intent and play at a high Division I level was a “weight off my shoulders” and that he can now turn his focus to winning a state championship his senior season at Campus. The Colts open their season on Dec. 4 at Salina Central.
As a father, Les Chapman says he’s seen a new level of drive in his son through the adversity of the last month.
Sterling never received an opportunity to sign a letter of intent with WSU.
“For Sterling, I know (decommitting from WSU) hurt his heart really bad,” Les Chapman said. “I’m telling you that was a pretty devastating thing for him. I watched him grow up as a man. I think it created a hunger inside of him even more that I think is going to carry on through Tulsa now.
“Watch him go to the gym and see that anger and still try to fight through all of this and still be a young man at the same time, I really learned a lot about Sterling through all of this. I think the best thing for him to do is be able to be put right into the fire and grow up.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 2:44 PM.
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