Former Pitt forward Justin Champagnie did not hear his name called on the night of the NBA Draft like he expected. But his disappointment didn’t last long. Shortly after the end of the second and final round, he signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors and saw his first professional action last month at the Las Vegas Summer League, every rookie’s first stop after signing.
After announcing that he was considering entering his name into the NBA Draft, star forward Justin Champagnie made it official Monday — the sophomore will forgo his remaining years of collegiate eligibility and go pro.
By Zack Gibney, For The Pitt News
• February 17, 2021
Pitt’s 71-65 loss to Georgia Tech on Sunday marked their fifth in six games, and showcased many of the consistent struggles that have doomed them throughout the skid.
Pitt men’s basketball was in control for most of the game, but a short run early in the second half cemented UVA’s 73-66 win over the Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
On Tuesday night, just one week removed from the Duke win, the mood had completely flipped. Pitt (8-4 overall, 4-3 ACC) was maddeningly sloppy against North Carolina (11-5 overall, 6-3 ACC) and lost 75-65 in deflating fashion at the Pete.
Though the sample size is small, the Panthers’ 4-2 start to conference play is not a fluke. The team clearly made visible improvements in spite of an unprecedentedly disjointed offseason. While several of the same, nagging woes haunted Pitt teams for the first two seasons of Jeff Capel’s tenure, he has seemingly managed to flip the script in his third season.
Pitt (8-2 overall, 4-1 ACC), rode another game of dominance from first-year forward Justin Champagnie to a 79-73 win over Duke (5-4 overall, 3-2 ACC), the Panthers’ first over the Blue Devils since Feb. 2016.
Justin Champagnie, Jeff Capel and Pitt men’s basketball all made varying returns from different absences on Saturday afternoon and the end result was a blowout 96-76 victory over rival Syracuse.
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