For Pitt, more shots for Justin Champagnie could translate into more wins

Pitt’s Justin Champagnie believes he has the cure for what has been ailing his team, losers of two games in a row after an encouraging 4-1 start to the ACC season.

“We have to get in the gym,” he said.

Which is what Champagnie has done throughout his basketball-playing life, even when he goes home to Brooklyn and bugs Bishop Loughlin coach Ed Gonzalez to unlock the doors to the school gym.

Perhaps Pitt (8-4, 4-3 ACC) can get to the NCAA Tournament the same way a pianist gets to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. Diligent work in the gym has turned Champagnie into the leading candidate for ACC Player of the Year.

Coach Jeff Capel’s No. 1 goal over the next two days as he prepares the Panthers for Saturday’s game against Notre Dame is finding ways to get the ball into Champagnie’s hands more often.

“We absolutely do,” Capel said after Tuesday’s loss to North Carolina.

A look at the numbers from most games proves the point.

Champagnie missed two games with a knee injury. Pitt won one and lost one. In the 10 in which he has been available, Pitt is 7-3.

He hasn’t disappeared from Pitt’s offense during the current two-game losing streak — he scored 40 points — but it’s interesting and instructive to note he tried only 21 shots (18.2% of Pitt’s total).

Overall, including opening night against St. Francis (Pa.), Champagnie has attempted only 37 of Pitt’s 183 shots (20.3%) while participating in three losses.

The percentage of attempts goes up, however, in the seven victories (25.1%, 105 of 418). The only outlier is the 70-55 victory at Miami in December when he attempted a season-low nine shots (matched in the North Carolina game).

Champagnie remains productive, win or lose and is the only ACC player averaging a double-double (20.2 points, 12.2 rebounds) while leading the conference in both departments.

Not long ago, Champagnie noticed he was struggling with his 3-pointers. In four games, he hit only 1 of 12. So he grabbed a couple of assistant coaches and started spending time after practice working on long-range shooting. In the past three games, he is 10 for 15, adding another dimension to the 6-foot-6 sophomore’s game.

Champagnie has sat down for only seven of 120 minutes (three games) since his return from the knee injury. With so much court presence, it’s strange to think Champagnie hasn’t been more involved.

Especially when considering he can score in a variety of ways. His 54.9 field-goal percentage is fourth in the ACC. So, finding the right balance among his 3-pointers, follow shots and short jumpers will be crucial, but not difficult to do.

After Notre Dame (5-8, 2-5), Pitt’s road gets rockier, with scheduled games next month against No. 20 Virginia Tech, No. 25 Louisville and No. 8 Virginia.

The ACC on Wednesday night rescheduled Pitt’s postponed game with No. 16 Florida State for 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at Petersen Events Center, three days after the Virginia Tech game.

Reversing the losing streak is a matter of focus and consistency, Champagnie said.

“We have to learn that basketball is a game where you can’t flip a switch,” he said. “You can’t turn it on and off. Including myself, I feel like we have to be more energetic at the jump.”

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