GONE GOME: American Alex Chapman flew home this week after playing just five games for the Griffith Demons this State League season. Picture: Anthony Stipo
AMERICAN star Alex Chapman has declared he would not rule out a return to Australia in the future if the right offer came along.
Speaking to the The Area News on Monday before he flew home, Chapman spoke of what the future held for him in the game after he was unable to play out the second half of the season with the Griffith Demons State League side.
Chapman was arguably the biggest source of collateral damage from the team’s decision to walk away from its remaining games in protest of former coach Andrew Cullen’s 26-week suspension.
Since his last appearance in a Demons’ jersey on June 2 against Wagga, Chapman has been able to play tourist, but when asked what his next move was, the towering centre was at a loss to explain what was next on his agenda.
“Maybe, I’d have to reassess what I want and if I want to play basketball anymore,” Chapman said when asked if he would come back out to Australia to play.
“I’m not really sure what I want to do now, so I’m going to head home and reassess what I want to do.
“I’ve got some offers to play for some local teams.
“It was definitely disappointing but it’s been two month since it (walking away) all went down, so it’s a case of moving on now.”
While his career in Griffith only lasted five games, Chapman made the biggest impact on the Demons of any of the American imports that have called West End Stadium home.
His 208-centimetre frame changed how the Demons played the game at both ends of the court, with his presence down on the block and in the lane having the potential to propel Griffith to a State League final.
“The experience of playing overseas was the best part of my trip out here,” Chapman said.
“You get to grow as a person off the court which helps you on the court because it helps you be tougher because I was here away from friends and family back home.
“I’ve made a lot of friends here for sure, but it’s different, being away from them is the hardest part of it.
“But really after being here a couple of weeks that went away because playing was a good distraction and I’ve never really been homesick before.”
Chapman hosted several coaching clinics in his time in the city, and said it could be his future if he does indeed walk away from playing the game.
“I hadn’t really done much with kids before I came here,” he said.
“I had done some working camps with kids when I was at college.
“But this is really the first time I’ve done a lot of one-on-one coaching and I really enjoyed it.”