Former Pitt forward Justin Champagnie isn't drafted, but agrees to free-agent contract with NBA's Raptors

Former Pitt forward Justin Champagnie wasn’t among the 60 players chosen in the two-round NBA Draft that ended at 12:50 a.m. Friday morning, but he got busy and found a home in the league, anyway.

Champagnie said in a text message to the Tribune-Review that he agreed to a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors not long after the draft ended.

“I’m ready to work,” he said.

Justin Champagnie is headed up North! He signs with the @Raptors! #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/mzdyJ7LQyj

— Life Sports Agency (@LifeSportsAgncy) July 30, 2021

Two-way contracts allow a player to play in the NBA and G League while the NBA team retains his rights for the season.

If Champagnie earns a job with the Raptors, he will be the fourth former Pitt player in the NBA, joining Steven Adams (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Phoenix Suns) and Brad Wanamaker (Charlotte Hornets).

Justin Champagnie says he has agreed to sign with the Toronto Raptors as an undrafted free agent. Deal was finalized not long after the end of the draft in the wee hours of Friday morning.

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) July 30, 2021

Champagnie’s good news comes as no surprise to Bishop Loughlin Memorial’s Ed Gonzalez, who coached Champagnie in high school. Gonzalez has long held the belief that his former player, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., can succeed as a professional basketball player.

“The best is yet to come for this young man,” Gonzalez said before the draft. “He’s going to be successful after he figures out what to do and how to do it. He’s going to be fine.

“He’s very athletic, can score the ball, he’s a great kid and he’s a hard worker and those are the ingredients for success.”

Gonzalez said he wasn’t surprised that Champagnie, who only turned 20 a month ago, decided to turn pro.

“He doesn’t do things until he’s sure he’s ready,” Gonzalez said.

Perhaps Champagnie, an honorable mention All-American, can take comfort in the career of T.J. McConnell, the former Chartiers Valley, Duquesne and Arizona guard who wasn’t drafted in 2015. McConnell has played six seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.6 assists per game this season for the Pacers.

Champagnie made a good case for himself during his two seasons at Pitt, which were filled with several games of individual achievement on a team that struggled to win games in the ACC (12-24). While three of Pitt’s best players — Trey McGowens, Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney — transferred within a year of each other, Champagnie became the face of the team and its leader.

He led the ACC in rebounding (11.1 per game) at 6-foot-5 ¾ and was second in scoring (18 points) this season. He is first Pitt player to average a double-double for the season since DeJuan Blair (2008-2009) and the first to average more than 18 points and 10 rebounds since Billy Knight (1973-1974).

In 53 career games, he scored 779 points, with 453 rebounds, and shot 44.6% from the field, 74.5% from the free-throw line, but only 28% from beyond the 3-point arc. He acknowledged that long-range shooting and ball-handling are two skills he has been working on since the end of the season.

He burst on the college basketball season in a big way early in the 2020-2021 season when he went back-to-back with 20/20 games, the first time that was done by an ACC player since Tom Burleson in 1971-1972. He scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds against Gardner-Webb only three days after he had 20 and 20 against Northwestern.

Champagnie committed no fouls in either game while playing 72 minutes. He contributed five assists and two blocks, with only two turnovers, against Gardner-Webb.

“It’s a big-time performance,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said at the time. “I’m probably more impressed with the five assists and only two turnovers and two blocks. He’s a good player, and he has a chance to be a really good player.”