St. John’s Basketball: Julian Champagnie poised for stardom in 2020-21
St. John’s basketball recently experienced a tough blow with LJ Figueroa electing to leave. How can rising sophomore Julian Champagnie fill that star role?
St. John’s basketball has not been in a great place recently. After once being regarded as one of the powerhouses of the east coast, the Red Storm have reached the NCAA Tournament just three times in the past 18 years. This past season was yet another chapter of disappointment as the team jumped out to an 11-2 record before falling apart in Big East play.
Regardless of their 5-13 conference record, the Red Storm showed more fight under head coach Mike Anderson and the future looks relatively bright.
Perhaps most importantly, Coach Anderson already has a young budding star that he can build around for the next few years in Julian Champagnie. While the loss of LJ Figueroa is certainly detrimental to St. John’s hopes for this coming campaign, the Red Storm could still put together a strong season with several solid returners and a nice group of newcomers.
A 6-foot-7 forward, Champagnie emerged on the scene as one of St. John’s best players early last season. He began the year as a full-time starter and scored in double-figures in seven of his first nine collegiate games. While he did suffer through a bit of a dry spell from the floor after that, Champagnie experienced a strong final few weeks to end his freshmen campaign.
Over the course of the Red Storm’s last 10 games of the season, Champagnie put together excellent averages of 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He also scored quite efficiently with shooting splits of .448/.342/.704. He appeared to regain some of his prior success during this stretch and that bodes well for the future.
Champagnie was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team for his efforts and will be out to put together a stronger second year in 2020-21. With Figueroa leaving and the team facing slightly higher expectations, Champagnie will need to fill a bigger role and take the next leap in his development. The possibility is there for him to be at the forefront of an NCAA Tournament team.
How can Champagnie ignite an SJU resurgence?
There are several reasons to believe that Champagnie could be the centerpiece of a resurgence for St. John’s program. The most obvious of these is that he is a budding star with a high ceiling. Due to his size and skill level, he can be a matchup nightmare at the forward position.
Of course, his per-game numbers were excellent for a freshman but he also showed flashes of being a go-to star as well. If those flashes can become more of the norm, then he has the makings of an All-Big East performer. If he is able to make that jump, that will make life easier for all of the teammates around him.
Namely, incoming freshmen Posh Alexander and Dylan Wusu are both local products that the fanbase is very excited to see take the court. While not the most highly-rated duo in recruiting rankings, these two could both be impact players from Day 1 and being able to fill background roles around Champagnie/Dunn will not only help them contribute but will also help with their growth as they won’t be forced into roles that they cannot handle.
JUCO products Isaih Moore and Vince Cole could also benefit from this as they will be able to immediately become “stars in their roles”. More specifically, Moore can showcase his impressive shot-blocking while developing his offensive game, and Cole can fill the much-needed sharpshooter role on the perimeter.
With the middle of the Big East all expected to be jumbled together next season, a few teams will have to break through and move into the upper half of the standings. My question is…why not St. John’s? Even with the loss of Figueroa, they have a respected head coach entering his second year with the program and a potential star duo in Rasheem Dunn and Champagnie.
On the whole, it feels as though St. John’s has its fair share of strong role players on the roster for this coming campaign. Those players just need the star to work around and Champagnie could be that piece to revolve around on both ends of the floor. Dunn could also be a go-to star, but Champagnie’s potential for a Year 2 jump in all facets of the game is difficult to ignore.
Next. 2020 recruiting class for St. John's. dark
St. John’s, even without Figueroa, has a solid roster capable of potentially competing for an NCAA Tournament bid. If Champagnie takes a big leap in Year 2, then the Red Storm could be on the list of most surprising teams in the nation. The opportunity is there considering the massive exodus of senior talent that the Big East just experienced.