Champagnie making big impact through six games

Justin Champagnie has made a major impact through the first six games of his Pitt career. The freshman forward from Brooklyn has quickly asserted himself on this team and already has huge role. After coming off the bench for four games he has now been inserted into the starting lineup for the past two.

He was Pitt’s leading scorer in the team’s 66-41 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff as he finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Champagnie has now scored in double figures in four straight games and has been one of the team’s steadiest players early on this season.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel is holding his freshman to a high standard. While he appreciates and is pleased with Champagnie’s play, he thinks there’s more to unlock from him.

“We think he's a talented kid, but we want more from him and we're going to be hard on him because we think he can do more,” Capel told reporters following the 66-41 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday. “At times it looks like he's not going as hard and part of that is because he's a gifted athlete, but again there's some habits that we're going to continue to work with him on, but he's played well the last two games since he's started. He's really played well all year, but there's a few more levels we think he can get to and we'll be on him to get there.”

The fact that people are discussing Champagnie at all at this point of the season is a bit of a surprise. It was well-documented in the preseason that he sustained a serious knee injury and would likely miss the entire season. After a second opinion, it was discovered that Champagnie was healthy and ready to play and he’s made the most of that opportunity. Still, he said it was an adjustment to just hop right back into the mix and play at full speed.

“The first practice back I was cautious, I didn’t want to go rebound,” Champagnie explained. “I didn’t want to jump a lot, but as time went on I just worked on it and it just came back to me and I was comfortable.”

One of the main things that sticks out about Champagnie’s game is his feel for it. He constantly puts himself in position to receive the basketball for easy points. He’s a willing rebounder and has a knack for where the play seems to be going.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff played strictly zone against Pitt, and that only further displayed Champagnie’s feel for the game. He looked like a senior more than a freshman as he was position in the high-post and short corner. Champagnie credits that to how he’s played his whole life.

“Growing up I was always playing as a big man,” he said. "Being in the middle of the zone was just a part of the way I played, so that’s why it’s comfortable for me.”

Capel thought Champagnie along with fellow freshman Karim Coulibaly showed a lot of poise and had a natural feel for playing in the middle against the zone.

“I think the main thing is that you can't panic,” Capel said of playing in the middle against a zone defense. “It's a hot-spot, it's a lot of stuff going on in the middle of the zone. So you need someone that's comfortable that doesn't panic and can make good decisions and can see and doesn't necessarily have to be tall, he just has to be able to see and not panic in kind of the center of chaos and those two guys do a pretty good job there.”

Champagnie’s willingness to score inside and rebound has earned him a big role on this team already and his value continues to increase with each passing game. It’s hard to picture where this team would be without his presence, and how close they were to not having him at all this season.

“I still got to be cautious with what I do, but I feel comfortable in the way I play and I feel comfortable with my knee, so I just go out there and have fun and play.”