Julian Draft Spots
- Thread starter Fizzy
- Start date
Can only hope for the best for him so he can realize his dream.
Don't they say that sometimes if you're late 2nd round, its almost better to not get drafted so that you have more flexibility to sign with a team that may be better longer term option?
MarkRedman
Well-known member
I agree with that theory. Very few second round picks get guaranteed contracts. If you get cut, you have nothing to show for the experience. As an undrafted free agent, you can try to get involved with a team whose roster is favorable and gives you the best chance of landing a spot.
SJUDave
Well-known member
In my interview with D'Angelo Harrison coming up on Thursday, he said exactly this.
We discussed his time after his senior year going through NBA work outs and touched on Julian in the draft. He said it allows for you to be in control to an extent.
Julian the underdog....Zach article
nypost.com
Julian Champagnie can write his latest ‘underdog’ chapter in 2022 NBA Draft
History is repeating itself for Julian Champagnie.
nypost.com
Wishing Julian best of luck on Thursday night! then show the doubters at the next levelJulian the underdog....Zach article
Julian Champagnie can write his latest ‘underdog’ chapter in 2022 NBA Draft
History is repeating itself for Julian Champagnie.
L J S A
Well-known member
Definitely agree since they may be shedding some guys at bottom of roster, but I'm not sure they've had him in for a workout.
Even if he has to spend a year or two down at Santa Cruz it would be worth it to catch on with the organization.
SJUDave
Well-known member
they have, and dont forget LJ Figueroa is with that Santa Cruz team
I think he might be better off not being drafted, then going 57th. Then, he can basically pick and choose who he wants to try out for.
Pointer went around 55 or so, to Cleveland, where he played the same position as some guy named LeBron, so he had no chance of succeeding there. I'm pretty sure, had he gone off the board, he would have signed with a team that he has a better chance of being on the roster, for a long time.
lol.... cause you cant have two guys at the same position on a team...
MarkRedman
Well-known member
In the ESPN+'s most recent mock draft, Julian is projected not to be drafted
He is listed as their #64 prospect
From #49 on, they listed 2 from Overtime Elite, 1 from G League Ignite, 5 foreign guys and 2 from college teams
I really hope that they are wrong and Jules get drafted but he'll definitely have an NBA opportunity either way
He is listed as their #64 prospect
From #49 on, they listed 2 from Overtime Elite, 1 from G League Ignite, 5 foreign guys and 2 from college teams
I really hope that they are wrong and Jules get drafted but he'll definitely have an NBA opportunity either way
And how exactly was he going to get any minutes there, behind LeBron? Hard work? Dedication? Being a good teammate? No.
He would have been better off being undrafted, and picking a place to tryout, where minutes were available.
I hope he's giving shooting tips to the team....
Moose
Well-known member
This writeup is from The Athletic and Sam Vecenie. Pretty positive review. Has him ranked #59 overall
STRENGTHS
Brother, Justin, plays for the Toronto Raptors. Julian is a three-star recruit who earned honors in each of his three seasons with
the Red Storm. He was All-Freshman in 2020 before going back-to-back as a first-team all-conference member in 2021 and 2022
as one of the leading scorers in the conference.
Has good size for the combo forward spot at 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Plays bigger than that because his standing
reach is 8-foot-11. Won’t really have issues sliding between the two roles. Also think Champagnie’s stronger than you’d think for
only being about 210 pounds. Uses his lower-half strength really well on both ends of the floor.
The big skill with Champagnie is the shooting and scoring ability. Averaged 19 points in back-to-back years largely because of it.
Was a tough shot maker at St. John’s. Specialized in contested pull-ups and jab-step catch-and-shoots because his team’s offense
wasn’t all that good. A ridiculous 73 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities were guarded last season, which meant that he
hit only 32 percent in those scenarios. But he’s a better shooter than that. Makes them off relocations and with a hand in his face.
Can hit stepbacks going to both his right and to his left. Knew how to take advantage of his inherent mismatches against college
defenders. Took smaller guys on the block and use his footwork to finish around them or over the top after burying them deep or
used his fluidity to make shots from the perimeter against bigs. Felt like the fadeaway was his go-to. He has really good balance
on his shot, landing quietly without much elevation on it.
I also like the way Champagnie moves away from the ball. Has a real sense of how to hunt out shots. He moves well off screening
actions and gets into his jumper. Does a good job of planting his feet and not wasting movement into the shot. Takes them off
the hop. Has a small ball dip, but it weirdly feels like he gets them off more quickly off movement than he does off a standstill
spot-up opportunity. Finds the ball off cuts to the rim. Makes the same percentage of his shots if he’s coming off movement that
he does when standing still, which could translate to future success. Beats his man backdoor.
Think he does a pretty good job guarding his man. Don’t really think of him as switchable because I worry about his quickness,
but I do think his size and strength allows him to handle threes and fours. Good, disruptive hands. Plays pretty upright but
retains the quickness he has well. Guys noticed that and tried to go through his chest, but he’s very strong through his lower
half and core. Defended well on the block. He was able to absorb that contact and still contest without fouling. Think he’s sharp
rotationally in help settings and generally does a good job of being in position to force turnovers. Good instincts around the
rim. Again, uses his size well from the weak side. Blocked over a shot per game in college. Don’t think he’ll be a killer weakside
rim protector, but he’s at the very least regularly available.
WEAKNESSES
Strong, but not a great athlete really by NBA standards. Doesn’t really have a great first step. Not wildly fluid and flexible as
an athlete. It pops up in multiple aspects of his game and could cause him issues as it refers to his future.
First, you see it in the way he struggles to separate as a shot creator. Largely resorts to trying to shoot over the top of guys as opposed to being able to get by. Almost everything Champagnie does is contested, and it’s exceptionally hard to make a living that way in the NBA. Took just three of his 17 attempts per game at the rim in half-court settings because he often just has to settle for his jumper. While I buy the jumper in general as a spot-up option in the times where he’s open, I don’t really think he’s a good enough shooter to live off a diet of tough looks when he’s facing NBA length and athleticism. The problems also pop up in his game as a finisher. He created a lot of high-percentage looks as a cutter that resulted in a 54.5 percent mark at the basket, but I don’t love his attempt at a power finishing game where he just rises up off two feet every time and tries to bully his way through toward the rim. Not a great finisher off his self-created attempts.
Also don’t love him as a playmaker or passer. His role at St. John’s was certainly to be more of a scoring presence, but he missed a ton of reads to take tough contested shots. Was it a matter of his role? Or was it simply more that he didn’t make the right kickouts regularly? Will need to be much more willing to keep the ball moving quickly at the NBA level. In that vein, the adjustment in his game will need to be pretty substantial. He’s no longer going to be the centerpiece and will need to play off the ball.
I worry a little a little bit about how his brand of defense will translate. He’s not the quickest guy in the world, and he has a real chance to get hit by smaller, quicker guards in space who can leverage him and get by him. On top of that, does really like to get his body onto his man and be physical. Will that style of defense fly when he’s no longer bigger and stronger than most of the 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-6 wings that he was matched up with in college? Also didn’t love his closeouts. A lot of fly-bys where he was trying to contest. Worry that smarter players who can both shoot and drive will be able to take advantage of him doing that.
SUMMARY At the end of the day with Champagnie, I see him as an interesting potential 3-and-D guy if he’s willing to change the shape of his game and become more of an off-ball shooter. His ability to make shots off movement is interesting given how little in his jumper changes. I also think he’s shown enough defensively to where you might be able to buy him making a neutral impact on that end and holding up against his man. But the changes to his game would have to be so substantial, and the downside is real enough to where I see him as a two-way player, not as a guaranteed contract guy. I’m willing to take the flier that it works, but I don’t think he’s truly an investment given the numerous questions about his athleticism and how that will impact multiple parts of his game.
STRENGTHS
Brother, Justin, plays for the Toronto Raptors. Julian is a three-star recruit who earned honors in each of his three seasons with
the Red Storm. He was All-Freshman in 2020 before going back-to-back as a first-team all-conference member in 2021 and 2022
as one of the leading scorers in the conference.
Has good size for the combo forward spot at 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Plays bigger than that because his standing
reach is 8-foot-11. Won’t really have issues sliding between the two roles. Also think Champagnie’s stronger than you’d think for
only being about 210 pounds. Uses his lower-half strength really well on both ends of the floor.
The big skill with Champagnie is the shooting and scoring ability. Averaged 19 points in back-to-back years largely because of it.
Was a tough shot maker at St. John’s. Specialized in contested pull-ups and jab-step catch-and-shoots because his team’s offense
wasn’t all that good. A ridiculous 73 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities were guarded last season, which meant that he
hit only 32 percent in those scenarios. But he’s a better shooter than that. Makes them off relocations and with a hand in his face.
Can hit stepbacks going to both his right and to his left. Knew how to take advantage of his inherent mismatches against college
defenders. Took smaller guys on the block and use his footwork to finish around them or over the top after burying them deep or
used his fluidity to make shots from the perimeter against bigs. Felt like the fadeaway was his go-to. He has really good balance
on his shot, landing quietly without much elevation on it.
I also like the way Champagnie moves away from the ball. Has a real sense of how to hunt out shots. He moves well off screening
actions and gets into his jumper. Does a good job of planting his feet and not wasting movement into the shot. Takes them off
the hop. Has a small ball dip, but it weirdly feels like he gets them off more quickly off movement than he does off a standstill
spot-up opportunity. Finds the ball off cuts to the rim. Makes the same percentage of his shots if he’s coming off movement that
he does when standing still, which could translate to future success. Beats his man backdoor.
Think he does a pretty good job guarding his man. Don’t really think of him as switchable because I worry about his quickness,
but I do think his size and strength allows him to handle threes and fours. Good, disruptive hands. Plays pretty upright but
retains the quickness he has well. Guys noticed that and tried to go through his chest, but he’s very strong through his lower
half and core. Defended well on the block. He was able to absorb that contact and still contest without fouling. Think he’s sharp
rotationally in help settings and generally does a good job of being in position to force turnovers. Good instincts around the
rim. Again, uses his size well from the weak side. Blocked over a shot per game in college. Don’t think he’ll be a killer weakside
rim protector, but he’s at the very least regularly available.
WEAKNESSES
Strong, but not a great athlete really by NBA standards. Doesn’t really have a great first step. Not wildly fluid and flexible as
an athlete. It pops up in multiple aspects of his game and could cause him issues as it refers to his future.
First, you see it in the way he struggles to separate as a shot creator. Largely resorts to trying to shoot over the top of guys as opposed to being able to get by. Almost everything Champagnie does is contested, and it’s exceptionally hard to make a living that way in the NBA. Took just three of his 17 attempts per game at the rim in half-court settings because he often just has to settle for his jumper. While I buy the jumper in general as a spot-up option in the times where he’s open, I don’t really think he’s a good enough shooter to live off a diet of tough looks when he’s facing NBA length and athleticism. The problems also pop up in his game as a finisher. He created a lot of high-percentage looks as a cutter that resulted in a 54.5 percent mark at the basket, but I don’t love his attempt at a power finishing game where he just rises up off two feet every time and tries to bully his way through toward the rim. Not a great finisher off his self-created attempts.
Also don’t love him as a playmaker or passer. His role at St. John’s was certainly to be more of a scoring presence, but he missed a ton of reads to take tough contested shots. Was it a matter of his role? Or was it simply more that he didn’t make the right kickouts regularly? Will need to be much more willing to keep the ball moving quickly at the NBA level. In that vein, the adjustment in his game will need to be pretty substantial. He’s no longer going to be the centerpiece and will need to play off the ball.
I worry a little a little bit about how his brand of defense will translate. He’s not the quickest guy in the world, and he has a real chance to get hit by smaller, quicker guards in space who can leverage him and get by him. On top of that, does really like to get his body onto his man and be physical. Will that style of defense fly when he’s no longer bigger and stronger than most of the 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-6 wings that he was matched up with in college? Also didn’t love his closeouts. A lot of fly-bys where he was trying to contest. Worry that smarter players who can both shoot and drive will be able to take advantage of him doing that.
SUMMARY At the end of the day with Champagnie, I see him as an interesting potential 3-and-D guy if he’s willing to change the shape of his game and become more of an off-ball shooter. His ability to make shots off movement is interesting given how little in his jumper changes. I also think he’s shown enough defensively to where you might be able to buy him making a neutral impact on that end and holding up against his man. But the changes to his game would have to be so substantial, and the downside is real enough to where I see him as a two-way player, not as a guaranteed contract guy. I’m willing to take the flier that it works, but I don’t think he’s truly an investment given the numerous questions about his athleticism and how that will impact multiple parts of his game.