HERE'S YOUR SHOT
When Julian Champagnie declared for the 2022 NBA Draft and bypassed his final two years of college eligibility, his mission was to play his way into the first round and make his dream of playing at the next level a reality.
This week, the Brooklyn native and former St. John’s star has the opportunity to prove he belongs.
Champagnie will take part starting Wednesday in the NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, where he will be judged against the nation’s top prospects roughly five weeks before the draft. He will interview with teams, play five-on-five games, go through athletic tests and get measured.
Though there will be other opportunities in the ensuing weeks, the combine presents a chance for the 6-foot-8 New Yorker to make a statement about his game to decision-makers across the entire NBA.
“This stage this week is pretty big for him, just from a perspective of going up against the very best, and showing that he’s tough enough, he’s strong enough, he’s athletic enough, he’s relatively skilled enough, and the one thing he does really, really well — the shot — is really, really good [against this type of competition],” one NBA scout familiar with Champagnie said.
Champagnie, looking to be the first St. John’s player to get drafted since Sir’Dominic Pointer was taken in the second round (53rd overall) in 2015, profiles as a big wing at the next level who can stretch defenses and has improved as a defender and secondary playmaker each year in college. Three NBA scouts, speaking on condition of anonymity, view Champagnie as a second-round pick at the moment, ranging from the early-to-midrange part of the round. That’s where most mock drafts have him pegged.
One scout, however, believes a big week could elevate him into at least being discussed as a late first-round possibility. Another warned that for as important as the combine can be, players can sometimes hurt themselves more than help. Some prospects will try to do too much. It’s sometimes easier to stand out for the wrong reasons than the right ones.
“Is a lead decision-maker going to see him for the first or second time, and how does he play in front of that person?” one of the scouts said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
The scouts differed on what was most important for Champagnie to showcase. One felt he needed to prove he can defend athletic wings on the perimeter, a major question mark. Others said it was more significant for him to make shots and be efficient offensively, because that’s what will get him drafted. The bottom line is it
would behoove him to perform.
“You’d like to see the ability to do more than shooting. We know he can shoot,” a second scout said. “Obviously, you want to see him shoot it well, but you’d like to see what more can he do, whether that’s defending, whether that’s creating off the dribble, but at the
same time, play your role and be really good in that role.”
Champagnie had three workouts scheduled before this week, but a bout with COVID-19 forced him to postpone them. That shouldn’t impact him too much, though.
In addition to the combine, his
agency UNLTD Sports Group, will have its Pro Day on Thursday night at Wintrust Arena in front of all 30 teams, and he will then thrust himself into a slew of workouts beginning on Monday.
In three years, Champagnie has come a long way, from an unranked recruit to an All-Big East
first-team selection back-to-back years at St. John’s and one of the best scorers in the country. It has put him in this position.
Now he has to make the most of it, starting this week in Chicago that begins a five-week push to realize a lifelong dream.