Red-letter day
Champagnie’s return giving St. John’s hope going into year
Preseason expectations haven’t been this high for St. John’s since the 2018-19 season, the last time it reached the NCAA Tournament.
Just like that team, this season’s Red Storm were picked to finish fourth in the Big East in a vote by the league’s coaches on Tuesday’s conference media day, and they had a leading man recognized.
St. John’s hopes what follows is a better season than the one Chris Mullin, Shamorie Ponds and company produced three seasons ago. That group fell off a cliff late in the season, finished a dismal seventh in the Big East and was the last team selected for the dance — and quickly eliminated in the First Four.
Mullin left, Ponds opted not to return for his senior year and went undrafted. And a new era began with head coach Mike Anderson, who soon signed Julian Champagnie as his first major recruit. In their third year together, after two winning seasons that surpassed somewhat low hopes, there is ample hype for Anderson, Champagnie and the Johnnies.
“I came here for expectations,” Anderson said, with a smile and the bravado of a man who has never had a losing season in his 19 years as a head coach.
The league’s coaches believe in St. John’s. They picked the Johnnies fourth in the Big East, behind Villanova, Connecticut and Xavier, and ahead of No. 5 Seton Hall. Champagnie, last year’s leading scorer in the Big East, was voted as a unanimous first-team selection and Posh Alexander, the conference’s reigning Freshman of the Year and co-Defensive Player of the Year, made the second team.
Expectations are heightened. The bar is the NCAA Tournament. A March Madness run seems possible. There is one caveat — can the new players mesh? Similar to many teams across the country in the new age of transfers being free to switch schools without having to sit out, St. John’s has almost a completely new team.
“We got the components, now it’s a matter of putting it together,” Anderson said. “On paper it is [the most talented roster I’ve had here] . ... What you saw last year without fans, we’re going to improve upon that.”
Only Champagnie, Alexander and Dylan AddaeWusu are back from last season. There will likely be three new starters. But one advantage for Anderson is he knows what to expect from the top of his roster. It’s about filling in a supporting cast from a talented group of transfers and freshmen that fit his uptempo style better and on paper improve St. John’s depth, defense while raising its ceiling.
“It makes it much easier when you know who your top two are,” said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who has brought in six new players himself.
A Brooklyn native, Champagnie admitted to thinking about what might’ve been on occasion, had he chosen to go pro, as his twin brother Justin did, after testing the NBA draft waters. Justin went undrafted out of Pittsburgh, but signed a two-way contract with the Raptors and made their opening-night roster.
Julian Champagnie made it clear he’s happy to be back. He wants to finish what he started with Anderson three years ago while improving his draft stock and adding layers to his game. So much is riding on this season for him.
“I’m not scared of it. I got to perform,” said the 6-foot-8 Champagnie, who went through his first full practice on Sunday after minor wrist surgery in late July. “I bet on myself and I also bet on my team.”
When Champagnie told Anderson he was coming back, the star junior emphasized the importance of winning. He didn’t want anything tailored to him or to be treated any differently.
All that matters for him is returning St. John’s to the sport’s biggest stage. Contending for a Big East title. Advancing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. The rest, he believes, will take care of itself.
“It would be a dream come true, really,” Champagnie said. “That’s something I really, really think about. It’s heavy on my mind, just to try to bring St. John’s back to where it was [years ago]. We have the pieces to do it, and we can do it.”