Boxed out by Wake Forest, Pitt's Justin Champagnie still finds ways to be productive

Perhaps it is an unfortunate commentary on the current state of sports that great players aren’t allowed to slip — even a little — off pedestals fans and media build for them.

Which would explain the question tossed at Justin Champagnie after Pitt’s 76-75 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday night.

Champagnie was his team’s best player, scoring 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He grabbed eight rebounds and five steals and contributed two assists. In his third game after returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for a month, he played all but 2 minutes.

Still, reporters wanted to know what went wrong. Perhaps Wake Forest threw specially designed defenses at the player who has recorded two games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. Perhaps 12 attempts in 38 minutes indicate Pitt needs to make more of an effort to get the ball to its leading scorer.

“A little more pressure than usual,” Champagnie said. “Nothing too special. I got to my spots in the mid-range. I have to be better at making my free throws and finishing plays around the rim.”

He remains the ACC leader in scoring (19.9 points per game) and rebounds (12.4) and is considered the top candidate for ACC Player of the Year. His only sin: He wasn’t perfect.

Champagnie’s rebounding average was down, and he missed two of three shots from the free-throw line. Those are minor events, made larger in a one-point loss. But he didn’t have an offensive rebound for the first time in his 42 college games.

“They were boxing out,” he said. “Every time we put up a shot or they put up a shot, they always sent one guy to me, two sometimes.”

But Champagnie said that shouldn’t matter.

“That’s on me,” he said. “I always say I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. I have to get to the glass more, and I have to rebound for my team. I don’t really feel like anybody can really stop me from getting to the glass, but myself. It’s more of a mental thing for me.”

Pitt (8-3, 4-2) doesn’t need Champagnie to be considered an NCAA Tournament team at the end of the season. The Panthers still shot 45.8% (27 of 59) from the field, better than the season average of nine other ACC teams.

Pitt had more rebounds (34-31), offensive rebounds (11-8) and fewer turnovers (15-11) than Wake Forest. In the NCAA NET rankings, Pitt is No. 58.

But the defense was bad at the beginning of the game against a last-place team and never responded after Wake Forest’s Ismael Massoud made 3-pointer after 3-pointer, finishing 8 of 10 from beyond the arc.

It was probably a subconscious thought, but Pitt practiced and played as if the Duke victory four days earlier granted entitlement.

“Coach (Jeff Capel) said you have to respect the game and bounce back the right way,” Champagnie said. “You can’t come out here and take things for granted. We beat Duke. That’s in the past.

“Right after the game, we said this (loss) is going to make us or break us. Last year, we came off a big win and then we lost (eight of the last nine). We don’t want to go through that again. We know what it’s like, and it’s not a good feeling.”

Pitt has a busy schedule ahead, three games in nine days, starting with North Carolina (10-5, 5-3) Tuesday at Petersen Events Center.

Champagnie said maintaining focus is more than just what happens on the floor.

“We told (teammates), stay off social media,” he said. “People are going to say things about you, text you, say all these things. But just focus on us and get back in the gym and get after it.

“Coming off big wins, multiple wins, you still have to come to practice and act like nothing happened.”