It’s only fitting that Julian Champagnie was overlooked on draft night. Being discounted on the basketball court has been the story of the 76ers rookie’s life. So going undrafted on June 23 was just history repeating itself.
SALT LAKE CITY — It’s only fitting that Julian Champagnie was overlooked on draft night. Being discounted on the basketball court has been the story of the 76ers rookie two-way player’s life.At Brooklyn’s Bishop Loughlin High School, the tag was that Champagnie wasn’t good enough to play high-major college basketball. Now, after being a two-time first-team All-Big East selection at St. John’s, the knock is that the 6-foot-8 forward isn’t an NBA-caliber player.
“Growing up, I feel like with twins, there’s always one that’s above the other one, which is fine,” Julian said. “I kind of accepted that role as a kid. But up until high school, it was more of an adjustment, I just sat back and did my thing. [His brother] still took the credit for it. That’s fine.” He was held scoreless while missing his five shots, including two threes, in 10 minutes off the bench inat the Vivint Arena. Champagnie did have two rebounds and was a minus-2.
“We got no doubt that he’s going to end up making them. But the thing that we were proud of was he was able to stay on the floor despite that because of his defense.” The massive leap can be attributed to his worth ethic. Champagnie, who turned 21 on June 29, was known for putting in three-a-day workouts in college.So finding his offensive rhythm may not be a concern. Champagnie, however, must show that he can defend NBA perimeter players and carve out a non-shooting niche for himself.“I have to learn a lot coming from college,” he said. “The way we played in college is different than the way they play here, the pace, the physicality, and stuff like that.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Summer league standouts for the Sixers include Isaiah Joe, Michael Foster Jr.Daily News | Summer league standouts for the Sixers include Isaiah Joe, Michael Foster Jr.
Read more »
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could throw a new wrinkle into the Sixers’ offseason plansThere is the possibility of a logjam on the trade market. It could take awhile for the Sixers to make more deals.
Read more »
NBA Summer League: Trevelin Queen had mixed results in Sixers’ 86-82 victory Utah JazzThe Sixers have developed unexpected gems before and the summer league is often where they first start to shine.
Read more »
Sixers’ Charles Bassey glad for his first taste of summer league actionThe center sat out last year's summer league while his contract was being negotiated. “This summer, my focus is just getting better,” he says.
Read more »
The Sixers officially sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, completing their Rockets reunionDaily News | The Sixers officially sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, completing their Rockets reunion
Read more »
Jaden Springer was easy to overlook as a rookie. He vows to be impossible to ignore this Sixers season.With all of the 76ers’ offseason acquisitions, it is easy to overlook what Jaden Springer has to offer this season. But the second-year combo guard wants to make himself hard to ignore after this summer.
Read more »