PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Looking at major NBA Draft sites, only one has Justin Champagnie as a top 50 prospect. That was ESPN, with the sophomore at 44. Of a few I found that do mock drafts, not one predicted the sophomore would go in the two rounds.
This is just the type of information that Pitt head coach Jeff Capel is worried his star will see.
“Because of my connections,” Capel said. “Because of the people I know that are in the NBA. I will be able to get him accurate information. Not information that you see on a Draft website or mock draft. I know how those things work. I’ve had a lot of experience with them. I know those things a majority of the time are not accurate.”
Those website evaluations right now would work in favor of those who want Champagnie back at Pitt. Much room to grow. Not projected to go high, if at all in the two rounds. Capel says he won’t use that to his advantage.
“I will be able to gather accurate information for him,” Capel said. “I will share that with him and his family in complete honesty. I will support them in whatever way they want me to in making the decision.”
Capel said he talked with Champagnie’s parents, who are already getting hounded by agents not just because of Justin, but his brother Julian. The leading scorer in the Big East this year while at St. John’s. They discussed a plan about a month ago to get through the season. They will now meet again since the season is over to form a new one.
“What I try to do in all of these situations,” Capel said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a lot of these situations. When I was a head coach before and certainly during my time at Duke.”
“The biggest thing is that Justin and I, and his family, have to be on the same page because there will be a lot of people trying to divide us. What I mean by that is there will be people saying that I will try and make him come back to school for me. My thing is, Justin doesn’t owe me anything. He needs to do what is best for him.”
“I’ve never been a guy that has said to a kid ‘that you should stay or you should go’. That’s not my decision. My job is to get the information. If they ask me my opinion, then I will give my opinion. I will not volunteer by opinion because that’s a decision between a kid and his family.”
Champagnie says Capel means everything to him. He believes he’s honest and said he gave him a chance to show what he could do when others didn’t believe.
That belief and honesty will now be challenged by legit and want-to-be agents who will circle like hungry buzzards.
The momentum of the Pitt program possibly at stake as the only Panthers first-team All-ACC player has a couple of months to make a decision.