Pop the Champagnie. St. John’s coach Mike Anderson has his first local recruit.
Bishop Loughlin wing Julian Champagnie announced his commitment to the Queens school Wednesday night, picking the Red Storm over Pittsburgh, Washington State, Cincinnati and Seton Hall.
The versatile 6-foot-6 Champagnie, whose twin brother Justin is headed to Pittsburgh, initially was planning to go to prep school for a year, but those plans changed when the new St. John’s coaching staff came aboard and made him a priority. The three-star recruit announced his decision to reclassify into the class of 2019 on Monday, opting to stay home and attend the same school as his father, Ranford, a soccer star on the St. John’s 1996 national championship team.
“I grew up on St. John’s,” said Champagnie, who averaged 17.2 points per game as a senior at Bishop Loughlin. “I went to soccer camps there until I was 12.
“It’s really good. I get to help bring New York basketball back to where it needs to be.”
St. John’s assistant coach Van Macon, who also worked locally at Rutgers and Hofstra, was Champagnie’s lead recruiter. St. John’s offered him a scholarship on May 16 and hosted him for a visit shortly thereafter.
“I liked everything about them,” Champagnie said of the new coaching staff. “They were like family as soon as I walked in [for my visit].”
“St. John’s always had some appeal because of the family history there and now there was a fresh start and new opportunity there,” AAU coach Adam Berkowitz said. “The timing of it worked out. … Julian has a lot of versatility. He can play multiple positions on both sides of the floor. He has a lot of work to do, but he’s going to have a really good career. He’s a wonderful kid. Great teammate, great leader. Coaches love coaching him, guys love playing with him. He has a great sense of humor, very low key.”
A college coach familiar with Champagnie described him as a capable shooter whose strength is his ability to create mismatches.
“He’s a good-sized combo forward who can score inside against wings and can take bigs out on the perimeter and drive by them,” the coach said.
Another coach pointed out similarities to former Seton Hall forward Desi Rodriguez in that Champagnie may not be ranked high, but has the toughness, skills and work habits to develop into a quality Big East player.
“He’s a good piece,” the second coach said. “It shows that staff can get New York City kids.”
Champagnie’s commitment leaves St. John’s with two open scholarships. He joins point guard Johnathan McGriff and junior college forward Damien Sears in Anderson’s first recruiting class.