St. John’s basketball year in review: Top-5 moments of 2021

No. 5 St. John’s basketball moment: Julian Champagnie notches 1,000 Career Points

When Julian Champagnie announced that he would be withdrawing from the NBA Draft process to return to St. John’s for his junior year this past summer St. John’s fans were elated and a buzz about the upcoming season began to build.

The expectation to build off of last season’s strong finish and put together one of the Red Storm’s better seasons in recent memory increased tenfold with the news despite the massive offseason roster shuffle.

Champagnie has responded by picking up right where he left off last season, notching double figures in every game he has played in this season.

The junior forward is averaging 20.3 points per game on 46-percent shooting from the floor and 43-percent shooting from 3-point range.

During the first half in a December 12 victory over Colgate the 6-foot-8 forward became the 52nd player in Red Storm history to hit the 1,000 career point mark.

The milestone highlights the impressive progression from a high school player that flew under the recruiting radar, to a freshman producing solid minutes as a secondary scorer, to one of the premier players in the Big East.

We will see how the rest of the season plays out in 2022 as the Red Storm hope to shake off an uneven non-conference season and fulfill its preseason expectations in the Big East and get back to the NCAA Tournament.