Classen senior balancing basketball and singing

There is a moment during each Classen SAS boys basketball game that senior Campbell Walker Fields enjoys most.

Usually after the game's first timeout, he'll sneak a peek at the opposing team's bench to see a now familiar expression on the faces of the players and coaches.

“It's shock,” Walker Fields says. “I think they think we are the same Classen we've always been. So it's fun to see them realize they are going to have to bring it.”

Classen is coming off its first district title since reopening as a magnet school in 1994. The Comets' record of 12-13 playing in Class 4A barely begins to tell the story of the turnaround for the academically and artistically focused school.

Classen has challenged some of the best teams in the state this season, losing close battles with Class 5A No. 3-ranked Northwest Classen, Class 4A No. 3 John Marshall and Class 3A No. 2 Millwood.

But the Comets have also come up with good wins against the likes of Star Spencer, Santa Fe South and Centennial.

“It's good to see all the hard work put in,” Walker Fields said. “My last games are coming up, but I'm proud of what the core of us have accomplished and we have been there since the beginning.”

When Walker Fields was a freshman, the Classen boys team went 0-26. That's when the school turned to its middle school coach, Makinsely Jemison, to take over as head varsity coach.

A 2008 Classen alum, Jemison was unproven. But he knew the key was getting the players to buy in.

“Classen academically has always been about getting the very best out of students,” Jemison said. “We just took that and applied it to the basketball court.”

Coming off that winless season in 2016, Classen has improved each year. Jemison led the boys to two wins his first season, a 6-17 record his second year to the 12-13 this season and a 9-1 record at home.

“I feel like the boys were ready to win,” Jemison said. “They had not been pushed as hard or to their limits as we have pushed them to this year.”

Helping lead the way in that front is Walker Fields.

A talented basketball player that is one of the Comets top scorers and rebounders, Walker Fields is probably better known for his appearance on "America's Got Talent" when he was 14.

Using his singing and piano playing, Walker Fields wowed judges and fans and made it to the top 50 out of more than 56,000 hopefuls. .

Walker Fields has earned a scholarship in music to attend Loyola University in New Orleans and has been touring the country singing with local symphonies.

That kind of schedule doesn't always work out with basketball.

As Classen prepares to take on top-ranked Kingfisher on Thursday in the first round of Class 4A area playoffs, it will be doing so without Walker Fields, who has a concert the same night, opening up for "American Idol" star Clark Beckham.

“It's hard for me, and I want to be there with my guys,” Walker Fields said. “But singing is my future, and my coaches have been really understanding of that.”

Not only understanding, Jemison said he encourages it.

“I told him, `I support you and what you want to do in life,'” he said. “I applaud him and the effort he puts in. That opportunity to better your future is what our program is all about.”