St. John’s basketball: Julian Champagnie named Big East Player of Week
St. John’s basketball forward Julian Champagnie was named as the Big East Player of the Week.
Prior to Monday’s matchup with the No. 23 UConn Huskies (7-2, 4-2 Big East), St. John’s basketball sophomore Julian Champagnie was bestowed an honor no other Red Storm (8-7, 3-6 Big East) player has received this season.
The Big East Conference named the Brooklyn, New York native as the Player of the Week after he averaged 19.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game as the Johnnies split its two games.
BREAKING: @StJohnsBBall’s Julian Champagnie wins BIG EAST Player of the Week after averaging 19.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG. @MarquetteMBB’s Dawson Garcia wins his third BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor after averaging 15.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG, shooting 55% from the field and going 2-0. pic.twitter.com/fLFcVPasI1
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) January 18, 2021
St. John’s picked up its second conference win of the season against Butler on Tuesday evening before dropping a crushing contest at home against Marquette on Saturday afternoon.
Champagnie posted 18 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals against Marquette while shooting 6-of-12 from the field, and 4-for-8 from three-point range.
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Against Marquette the 6-foot-8 sophomore only had two points at halftime but exploded for 18 points in the second half, although he missed the game-winning 3-point shot with 1.5 seconds remaining off an in-bounds pass after the Johnnies fumbled away its final possession with 23 seconds left down by two.
Champagnie also picked up a shiner under his eye after battling for a rebound in the loss to the Golden Eagles.
Entering Monday’s tilt with the Huskies, Julian Champagnie was the top scorer in the Big East averaging 20.7 points per game.
St. John’s basketball has family affair in conference awards
As each respective conference announced its weekly honors, Julian Champagnie’s brother, Justin Champagnie, was named as the Co-Player of the Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Pittsburgh Panthers.
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Justin Champagnie returned off a knee injury to post 24 points and 16 rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting from the field in a victory over the Syracuse Orange on Saturday.
Following Monday’s win over UConn where Julian Champagnie had 12 points and six rebounds, a season low in points for the sophomore, St. John’s will not be in action until Wednesday, January 27 against the DePaul Blue Demons.