Inside The Panthers

Justin Champagnie Returns to Pitt Basketball Facilities

The former Pittsburgh Panthers star and current Toronto Raptor returned to work out with the Panthers.

Stephen Thompson

Justin Champagnie Returns to Pitt Basketball Facilities
Justin Champagnie Returns to Pitt Basketball Facilities /
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PITTSBUGRH -- Former Pitt men's basketball star Justin Champagnie is back in Pittsburgh this week after completing his first season as a professional. The current Toronto Raptor spent some time at the Panthers' practice facilities, getting shots up and lifting with Mouhamadou Gueye, John Hugley and Aidan Fisch. Assistant coaches Gilbert Brown and Jason Capel also made appearances on the team's Instagram account with Champagnie. 

In a video posted on Thursday, Champagnie said that he was "back home, getting some shots up with my dogs," as he panned to Gueye and Brown. "This one's going pro," he said while pointing to Gueye, "and this one is my son," Champagnie joked about Brown.  

The team also posed another set of pictures on Saturday that showed Champagnie shooting around with Gueye while Hugley and Fisch hit the weights.

Champagnie left Pitt after a dominant sophomore campaign in which he averaged 18 points and 11.1 rebounds per game en route to First Team All-ACC honors. No team used a pick on him during last summer's NBA Draft, but he still signed a rookie free-agent contract with Toronto on July 30. 

In 36 NBA appearances for the Raptors, Champagnie logged just 7.8 minutes per contest and 2.3 points per appearance. However, his season with Toronto's G-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, was spectacular. He ended the regular season as the 905's leading scorer on 49% and 41% shooting from the field and 3-point distance, respectively.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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