Champ

I'm really happy for Champ that he successfully left the court at CA on the high note he was determined to achieve.

In the 2nd half in particular he was zoned in and the Champ we know and love.   It was palpable being there and watching him shake off the demons and be by far the best player on the court.

Julian, I really hope you come back next season, and believe you will finish this one as a premier Big East player you are, but thank you and congratulations.
 
My goal here is to be objective about Champagnie, who has certainly played well overall for SJU and represented the school with a grace beyond his years. I'm not trying to dump on him and considering the posts that get written about Mathis and Wusu believe any negatives below are relatively muted. However.

Missed all of his three-point attempts (again) last night. Fact is he is a much better shooter from fifteen feet and in, and also finishes extremely well on the break. Very good hands. He's not the quickest guy and has improved his defense, but it is still not anywhere near elite. He does have elite court awareness, especially on defense - that is his greatest strength on that end. That awareness also makes him an above average rebounder.

At the college level he is a very good player and I think it is his great work ethic that has gotten him to this point. He will probably make All-Big East because he has compiled a lot of numbers, and good for him. But the idea that a guy with his skillset can play in the NBA is hard for me to get my head around. He would project as a three-and-d guy in the league. His defense isn't top-notch, and the NBA doesn't just want guys who take threes they want guys to hit them.

Look I'm sure he's going, and none of these kids owe anyone anything. I just can't imagine him making an NBA team. And I would be thrilled to be wrong as it is well known in NYC what a great kid he is. 

But he would have to play a lot better than he has for SJU this year - no?

 
 
IDRAFT post=461735 said:
My goal here is to be objective about Champagnie, who has certainly played well overall for SJU and represented the school with a grace beyond his years. I'm not trying to dump on him and considering the posts that get written about Mathis and Wusu believe any negatives below are relatively muted. However.

Missed all of his three-point attempts (again) last night. Fact is he is a much better shooter from fifteen feet and in, and also finishes extremely well on the break. Very good hands. He's not the quickest guy and has improved his defense, but it is still not anywhere near elite. He does have elite court awareness, especially on defense - that is his greatest strength on that end. That awareness also makes him an above average rebounder.

At the college level he is a very good player and I think it is his great work ethic that has gotten him to this point. He will probably make All-Big East because he has compiled a lot of numbers, and good for him. But the idea that a guy with his skillset can play in the NBA is hard for me to get my head around. He would project as a three-and-d guy in the league. His defense isn't top-notch, and the NBA doesn't just want guys who take threes they want guys to hit them.

Look I'm sure he's going, and none of these kids owe anyone anything. I just can't imagine him making an NBA team. And I would be thrilled to be wrong as it is well known in NYC what a great kid he is. 

But he would have to play a lot better than he has for SJU this year - no?


 
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I get your point but I believe this is over simplifying things. How often did Champ get an uncontested 3 point shot? There were no playa run to get him open. He's an extremely intelligent player who does a lot of things well. It will benefit him that in the NBA he won't need to be the main guy and can get better shots set up for him. Not saying he will make it and he certainly won't be more than a bench player if he does, but I don't think it's fair to translate this season into how he might look in the NBA.
 
That was a very fair and accurate assessment IDraft. Additionally, he also plays very soft. Not everyone can have Posh's agressiveness, but Champagnie plays way too cautious. He also takes too many shots. People should stop looking at how many points he scores, but look athow many shots he takes to get those points. My hope is that he does not come back. I think we will be better next year without him as long as we don't lose any other key players.
 
Was having a conversation yesterday about Jose Alvarado,  who bucked all the odds(too short, too slow, not a good enough shooter, etc etc etc) and not only thrived at the high D1 level, but made it to the league. He's not the first NYC kid to buck the odds like that. On the surface Champ may lack some of the tangibles that scouts look for, but seeing as he has already bucked the odds by making himself in to a very good high D1 player, it certainly wouldn't shock me to see him playing in the league. Regardless, I don't see any way he comes back to SJU next season. There's no real upside for him as a player and it's not like he's going to be the missing piece for a national title contender. Honestly, if he was looking to play one more year of college ball, if I were Champ I would be looking to move to a team where I could be that missing piece to a title contender. Much as Tariq Owens did.  But at the end of the day, I believe that next season Champ will be playing somewhere for money, and  I wish him the best in all his future endeavors. 
 
At the Xavier game last week I was 10 feet away from Julian during a time out , and I asked him for 1 more year 3 times until he finally turned to me and gave me a hard no . Anything can happen , but the way he responded he is gone . 
 
Monte post=461742 said:
Was having a conversation yesterday about Jose Alvarado,  who bucked all the odds(too short, too slow, not a good enough shooter, etc etc etc) and not only thrived at the high D1 level, but made it to the league. He's not the first NYC kid to buck the odds like that. On the surface Champ may lack some of the tangibles that scouts look for, but seeing as he has already bucked the odds by making himself in to a very good high D1 player, it certainly wouldn't shock me to see him playing in the league. Regardless, I don't see any way he comes back to SJU next season. There's no real upside for him as a player and it's not like he's going to be the missing piece for a national title contender. Honestly, if he was looking to play one more year of college ball, if I were Champ I would be looking to move to a team where I could be that missing piece to a title contender. Much as Tariq Owens did.  But at the end of the day, I believe that next season Champ will be playing somewhere for money, and  I wish him the best in all his future endeavors. 

Alvarado is definitely admirable. I remember watching him at CTK. He always played hard. He improved tremendously at Georgia Tech and matured along the way. I don't see that killer instinct in Champagnie. I see talent some of which IDRAFT alluded to in court awareness. I think for Champs to make it to the NBA even if it's a cup of coffee or a limited role, it will require him to make shots at a much higher rate. Maybe someone gives him a shot on a two way contract. Time will tell. Regardless it's best for all parties for him to move on. I plan to be there Wednesday for what could be his last game and I wish him nothing but the best.
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Time for the bird to fly from the nest.  Thanks for being a great Johnnie.
 
He was a great player for us.

I'm really curious if he makes it to the NBA. He has some characteristics that are maybe 'not good enoughs', but at the same time, he's got amazing positives: A super smooth jumper with a fast release, step-back moves, post moves. Nice passing skills. Rebounding and 1.9 steals a game this year.    Sometimes I look at at the tv, and say myself, he has nba written all over him.  
 
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AlBovino post=461738 said:
That was a very fair and accurate assessment IDraft. Additionally, he also plays very soft. Not everyone can have Posh's agressiveness, but Champagnie plays way too cautious. He also takes too many shots. People should stop looking at how many points he scores, but look athow many shots he takes to get those points. My hope is that he does not come back. I think we will be better next year without him as long as we don't lose any other key players.
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Champagnie was recently quoted as saying the St. John's fans are crazy during a recent interview. I think he was referring to fans like this one. Hope he doesn't come back? Better without him? Wow...
 
Room112 post=461794 said:
AlBovino post=461738 said:
That was a very fair and accurate assessment IDraft. Additionally, he also plays very soft. Not everyone can have Posh's agressiveness, but Champagnie plays way too cautious. He also takes too many shots. People should stop looking at how many points he scores, but look athow many shots he takes to get those points. My hope is that he does not come back. I think we will be better next year without him as long as we don't lose any other key players.
Click to expand...

Champagnie was recently quoted as saying the St. John's fans are crazy during a recent interview. I think he was referring to fans like this one. Hope he doesn't come back? Better without him? Wow...
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Champ seems like a great kid, a good person and a fine representative of the university. That being said, based on the season at hand he is an above average ball player on a mediocre team but no more then that. Unless he puts tons of time into developing his quickness and a consistent shot, I don’t see him as anything more then an average G league player. Hope I’m wrong for his sake.
 
Room112 post=461794 said:
AlBovino post=461738 said:
That was a very fair and accurate assessment IDraft. Additionally, he also plays very soft. Not everyone can have Posh's agressiveness, but Champagnie plays way too cautious. He also takes too many shots. People should stop looking at how many points he scores, but look athow many shots he takes to get those points. My hope is that he does not come back. I think we will be better next year without him as long as we don't lose any other key players.
Click to expand...

Champagnie was recently quoted as saying the St. John's fans are crazy during a recent interview. I think he was referring to fans like this one. Hope he doesn't come back? Better without him? Wow...
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I agree , that’s a crazy statement. A starting line up next season of Posh, Pinzon, Champagnie, Wheeler and Soriano would be very good. I expect Pinzon to have a breakout season next year. Plus a second unit of King, Wusu, Storr, Stanley and Niywe. I think that would be a ranked team especially if CMA could bring in one more shooter as a transfer.
 
SigEpSJU09 post=461744 said:
At the Xavier game last week I was 10 feet away from Julian during a time out , and I asked him for 1 more year 3 times until he finally turned to me and gave me a hard no . Anything can happen , but the way he responded he is gone . 
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Given the expectations that he (and others) had for himself coning into this season, I feel that he would see it as somewhat of a failure (and perhaps an embarrassment) to have to stay another season. I don’t think he is unique in this regard. I think most players who believe that the NBA is the next stop in their journey, look at a 4th year in college this way. just my opinion.
 
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