BECKLEY — In just a dozen years, the Wyoming East boys basketball program has come full circle.

Rory Chapman is proof.

He was a starting point guard for Warriors teams that advanced to the state tournament in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons under Gene Reid.

Chapman then served as an assistant coach under Jesse Lester with Wyoming East teams regularly advancing to Charleston.

Now this week, Chapman is taking his No. 1-ranked Warriors (20-2) to the Civic Center as a first-year head coach.

“Being my first year, I think it was important to get back,” Chapman admitted. “We’ve now been to the title game three years in a row. People expect it. We have high expectations here. We hate to lose.

“I told the players that we’ve had a great season. It’s been fun and we’ve learned a lot. But if we don’t win a state championship, it will be a letdown. And the players agree. They’ll be disappointed.”

In just its 12th season, Wyoming East will be going for its fourth boys state basketball title overall and its third in the last four years.

Wyoming East opened for the 1998-99 school year as a consolidation of Mullens and Pineville high schools. Going back even further, the school represents consolidation of Herndon and Glen Rogers high schools as well.

“Mullens had many great teams,” Chapman said. “My brother John played on the last state championship at Mullens in 1998, the last year they were open. Coach Reid was the coach there then. Pineville always was strong and Herndon was the state runner-up in 1993, the last year it was open. And Glen Rogers had a state championship.”

To say that the area has been a hotbed for boys basketball would be an understatement.

Mullens won the Class A boys state title in 1998, just months before the opening of the new school. The Rebels also claimed Class A titles in 1955, and three straight in 1982, 1983 and 1984. In between, Mullens also took Class AA state championships in 1970 and 1972.

Glen Rogers won a state Class A championship in 1977.

“It’s a basketball-rich area,” Chapman said. “Fans are very passionate about it. The kids grow up wanting to play basketball for Wyoming East now.”

The Warriors won Class AA state basketball championships in 2002, 2007 and 2008.

Chapman will rely on his recent experience on the Civic Center floor to lead the top-seeded Warriors, who begin with a first-round game against No. 8 seed Frankfort at 5:30 p.m. today.

“I think my experience helps us a whole lot,” Chapman stated. “The point guard is sort of a floor general — a coach on the floor. I learned a lot as a player under coach Reid. And I learned a lot from coach Lester serving under him as an assistant.”

Being a 28-year-old coach helps him relate well with the players as well, Chapman said.

“I know what they’re thinking,” he said. “It’s still fresh in my mind. I remember some of the nerves I felt heading to the state tournament.”

Chapman has plenty of state tournament memories, and would like to add some this week.

“I have been to the state tournament every year since I was a kid,” he said. “It’s something I like getting used to.”

This year’s Wyoming East squad is led by two guard Evan Muscari, a 5-foot-11 senior who averages 12 points per game, and 5-10 junior point guard Chase Morgan, who fires in at a 21 point clip.

As good as the Warriors backcourt is, they also get strong play from the post players. Alex Webb, a 6-5 junior forward, scores 12.2 points per contest. Marcus Schofield, a 6-3 sophomore forward, and Andrew Bishop, a 6-4 junior forward, tally 7.5 and 7.4, respectively.

— E-mail: jworkman@

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