St. John’s basketball forward Julian Champagnie invited to NBA Combine

St. John’s basketball forward Julian Champagnie is off to the NBA Draft Combine. 

It is crunch time for college basketball players to make a decision regarding their future, whether that means returning to the amateur ranks or heading to the NBA and St. John’s basketball sophomore forward Julian Champagnie is right in the thick of it.

July 7 is the deadline to make an official decision by the Big East Conference’s Most Improved Player landed an official invitation to the NBA Draft Combine and just completed a workout with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday afternoon.

Champagnie was one of six Big East players to earn an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, joining Connecticut’s James Bouknight, Providence’s David Duke, Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili, Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski.

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Julian Champagnie’s twin brother, Justin, who has officially announced he will leave Pittsburgh and remain in the 2021 NBA Draft has also received an invitation to the combine.

After being named to the All-Big East Freshman Team one year ago, the St. John’s standout averaged 19.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 43.3-percent shooting from the field and 37.7-percent from 3-point range as a sophomore.

Champagnie was named to the All-Big East First after his second season in Queens as the Johnnies earned the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament, it’s highest seed in the event since 2000.

St. John’s basketball ceiling drops significantly without star forward

If Julian Champagnie returns to St. John’s for his junior year, it’s realistic to think the Johnnies could battle for a second place finish in the conference despite seeing eight players leave via the transfer portal.

However, none of the departing players landed at a major conference school and head coach Mike Anderson has retooled with a slew of incoming players, including transfers and freshmen.

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If Champagnie opts to go for the professional route, St. John’s ceiling drops to a team who will be battling it out in the crowded middle of the conference’s standings.

The NBA Combine will be held from Monday, June 21 through Sunday, June 27 and some of the events will be broadcasted on ESPN.

An official decision is needed three weeks from yesterday. Time is ticking for the Red Storm to see if their best player will be back for at least one more season.