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St. John’s basketball: Julian Champagnie primed for huge second season

By Kevin Connelly

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 12: Julian Champagnie #2 of the St. John's basketball team dribbles the ball against the New Hampshire Wildcats during a game at Carnesecca Arena on November 12, 2019, in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 12: Julian Champagnie #2 of the St. John's basketball team dribbles the ball against the New Hampshire Wildcats during a game at Carnesecca Arena on November 12, 2019, in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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St. John’s basketball forward, Julian Champagnie, is primed for a major sophomore season after his first year in Queens.

There were a lot of questions surrounding the St. John’s Red Storm entering the 2019-20 season.

After Chris Mullin left the program, St. John’s was staring at a mass exodus after Shamorie Ponds and Justin Simon left the school one year early to pursue professional careers, only to see themselves go undrafted and play in the NBA G-League.

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However, after Mike Anderson was hired by St. John’s, he was able to maintain LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron, as well as the rising sophomores Greg Williams Jr., Marcellus Earlington, and Josh Roberts.

After Anderson was sure of those five remaining with the program, he hit the recruiting trail for uncommitted high school and junior college prospects and the newly minted coach of the Red Storm struck a gold mine from Brooklyn, NY.

Julian Champagnie came into St. John’s as a unproven player with many question marks surrounding just about every part of his game, but it was quickly shown that the Red Storm had a rising prospect on its hands.

In his first three collegiate games, the freshman nearly reached a double-double before finally achieving the mark on December 3 against St. Peter’s with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Although Champagnie hit a freshman wall, like many first year players do, his close to the season was sensational and it earned him a spot on the Big East All-Freshman Team.

ALSO READ: Analyzing the impact of LJ Figueroa’s draft decision

Dating back to February 12, a win for the Johnnies over Providence, Champagnie averaged 14.1 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 48.0 percent shooting from 3-point range.

As for his overall season, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 9.9 points 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest, shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 31.2 percent from 3-point territory.

Champagnie’s trajectory was very similar to that of his brother, Justin Champagnie, who also shined last season in his freshman year for Pittsburgh.

ALSO READ: What fans should expect from the St. John’s backcourt

Julian Champagnie will only get better after his first year of major exposure and experience and with a roster returning most of its core players, especially if LJ Figueroa returns to school, the sky is the limit for the rising sophomore.

Entering his sophomore season, Julian Champagnie should receive some preseason recognition from the conference and could even be considered a deep dark horse for the Big East Player of the Year.

If everything falls its way, St. John’s has the potential to be a Top-3 team in the Big East and should that come to fruition, Julian Champagnie will have a lot to do with it.

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