Justin Champagnie earns third ACC Player of the Week nod of 2020-21 season

Pitt small forward Justin Champagnie helped his team to a 79-73 upset of Duke last Tuesday and put on a solid performance in the team’s 76-75 loss at Wake Forest on Saturday. And for his efforts, he was named the ACC Player of the Week for the second time in a row and for the third time in the 2020-21 season.

Against Duke, Champagnie tied a career high with 31 points. He also added 14 rebounds to secure his fifth double-double of the season and the 11th of his career. Along with that, he went 4-for-7 from long range and was active on defense, with two steals and a career-high five blocks. And thanks in large part to the sophomore's contributions, Pitt was able to beat Duke for the first time since 2016.

The second matchup of the week was a letdown for the program, as Pitt dropped its third game of the season to a team that entered the game 0-6 in ACC competition. But with that said, Champagnie still had a solid outing, as he led the team with 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals. And once again, the 6'6", 200-pound wing was reliable from beyond the arc, as he went 2-for-3 on threes.

Champagnie is the second Pitt player to win ACC Player of the Week honors three times in one season, as only Lamar Patterson previously accomplished the feat in the 2013-14 season. He is also the eighth player in program history to win conference honors three times in one season, as he joins Sam Clancy, Vonteego Cummings, Brandin Knight, Carl Krauser, Sam Young and Clyde Vaughan, who won their honors from the Big East and Eastern Eight, in addition to Patterson.

The Brooklyn native is also the first Pitt player to earn back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors since Michael Young did so in November 2016. Only Champagnie and Young have won back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors at Pitt, and Champagnie is the first ACC player to accomplish the feat since Joel Berry of North Carolina in January 2017.