Champagnie makes a surprise return

Justin Champagnie’s absence turned out to be much shorter than expected, as Pitt’s sophomore standout returned to the court for today’s game against Syracuse at the Petersen Events Center.

Champagnie has not played since Pitt’s win at Miami in the Panthers’ ACC opener on Dec. 16. The following weekend, he suffered a knee injury that was expected to keep him out six to eight weeks.

That was less than four weeks ago. Now, instead of missing as many as 10 games, Champagnie only missed two: Pitt’s loss to Louisville at home on Dec. 22 and a win at Syracuse last Wednesday. In that sense, it was fortunate for the Panthers to have four games postponed during that stretch: Pitt’s road game at Duke on Dec. 29, a home game against Notre Dame on Jan. 2, a home game against Florida State on Jan. 9 and a road game at Georgia Tech on Jan. 13.

Earlier this week, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said that Champagnie would likely return short of the six-to-eight-week timeline.

“I do expect him to be back before the six to eight weeks,” Capel said during the weekly ACC coaches teleconference. “I still don’t know exactly when that will be, but he’s progressing very, very well.”

Capel added that Champagnie hadn’t been practicing with the team, but the sophomore’s return is significant. He is Pitt’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, and he reached double figures in scoring in each of his six games played this season. That included back-to-back 20/20 games and a 22/10 game for three double-doubles.