I am pretty sure I didn’t post that (I could be wrong), as I was not posting at that time but frankly, I did not think he would make the league; very glad to be wrong. But what does evaluating a player, which should be objective to have any credibility, have to do with being a fan? My evaluation has nothing to do with rooting, either for a team he played for, or in the case of Champagnie, rooting to be wrong as he was/is a class act to be sure.
Champagnie
- Thread starter Larry Wright
- Start date
To be very fair I think what NCjohnnie was referring to was not objective analysis without malice but those who seem to take delight in taking swipes at players, coaches, administration or even other users.
I didn't expect this.
But I'm really happy for Julian - one of my favorite Johnnies since I don't know when.
The ultra-rare underrecruited NYC baller who comes to STJ and flourishes.
If that was the case I took his post much too literally, my bad. Edit, Meant to comment on BOTE reply, my badx2!
First off, congratulations Julian on a job well done.
Swearing that Julian would never sniff the NBA (I was not one of those) and swearing also to being a St. John’s fan are not mutually exclusive. You can feel both ways. I will use Posh as an example. We loved him his three years here (well except for Mullin’s Revenge) and we are St. John’s fans, but how many actually thought then and think now that he would make the NBA? Does that mean we aren’t St. John’s fans? Absolutely not.
For those who didn’t think Julian would make the NBA (again I was not one of those) I am sure they are extremely happy for him and are happy they were proven wrong. Having another player from St. John’s in the NBA only helps us perception wise.
Again, congratulations Julian.
Addendum:
MainMan’s and Logen’s posts that immediately preceded this post is an example to my point. No reasonable person can accuse either one of them of not being real St. John’s fans.
Very fair point Logen (and SJU85 as well) and I wasn't thinking of anything you posted when I made my post. I agree it's very true that there is no contradiction in being a Johnnie fan and coming to the conclusion that a very good college player for the Johnnies likely won't make the NBA.
What I remember after the team's disappointing finish in Champ's last year is Champ taking a lot of heat, some of it unwarranted, and some posters being utterly dismissive of his having any chance at all of making the NBA which struck me at the time as unnecessary. Having said that, my post was poorly worded; I should have just congratulated Champ for reaping the fruit of all his hard work.
NCJohnnie, I am still waiting on some of those posters to admit they were wrong, lmao. I remember when we first signed Julian, I didn't think he was a Big East caliber player and said so right in this forum. In the middle of his freshman year, I apologized in this very same forum for underestimating him. I was wrong, and admitted as much.
I believe that your initial post was referring to those on here who made very negative comments about Julian last year and are unwilling or unable to own those comments now.
Champ giving the #2 pick in the draft a welcome to the NBA moment early in the spurs first summer league game
Rocket
Well-known member
Under Pitino I'm sure there will be more pros than the past few years.
Julian is an exception in that he beat the odds of the scouts, both professional and amateur redmen talent evaluators.
As a freshman and sophomore, his game was limited to his shooting. He worked his butt off to improve his handle, defense and movement with the ball in his hands.
Anyone who saw an NBA player in his first two years were wishful thinking but kudos to them for inspiring Champ to stay focused.
A great kid from a great St. John's family.
It's what we all see....NBA or no NBA.
All good and well and great for him, but Julian had a very uneven junior season that caused reasonable doubts. If you saw games he scored 30 points, you may have thought can't miss. At other times he went from can't miss to will miss.
Good for him. I hope his next contract is 4 years, $100 million.
Julians end of season surprising play wasnt too different to his freshmen year at sju where he performed above expectations right away. Perhaps his sophomore year will play out similarly too.
As Yogi Berra said, "90% of the game is physical, the other half is mental."
jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
Spurs' 2 Secret Weapons Who Shined Amid Victor Wembanyama's Absence Vs. Brandon Miller, Hornets
Julian Champagnie and Dominick Barlow showed out for the Spurs in the 2023 NBA Summer League amid Victor Wembanyama's absence.
clutchpoints.com
I don't think Julian wanted to be here that last season. He really wanted to go pro, but offseason surgery prevented that from happening. As a result, I think he was a little bored that last year.
We probably would have been better off as a team, had he gone pro. Of course, I would have been among the first on here to press the panic button going into that season, had he done that.
Boo Harvey
Well-known member
Julian clearly had an uneven junior year but there is no question we were much better with him. I shutter to think how bad we would have been without him.
