:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68929556/IMG_20210302_195746.0.jpg)
Pitt star Justin Champagnie was placed on the All-ACC first team on Monday, after he accrued 343 points based on the votes of a 75-person selection panel. The only player to finish with a higher total was Georgia Tech power forward Moses Wright, who accrued 344 points.
Rounding out the All-ACC first team were Louisville point guard Carlik Jones, Duke power forward Matthew Hurt and Virginia power forward Sam Hauser. Jones amassed 327 points, Hurt had 310 and Hauser came up with 281. Champagnie was the only Pitt player to earn honors from the ACC this season.
During his sophomore season, Champagnie achieved a rare feat, as he maintained a double-double average from Dec. 9 onward, with 18.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. In addition to that, he was a 33.3 percent three-point shooter and sank 72.6 percent of his free throws. Champagnie also got to the foul line five times per game and contributed 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game on defense.
The ACC also named its Player of the Year on Monday, and Champagnie appeared to be the front-runner for that honor as recently as late February. However, that ultimately went to Wright. Champagnie finished in a tie for second place for the honor, as he received 13 votes. Jones received the same number of votes in what turned out to be a three-man race that Wright ran away with late in the season.
The Brooklyn native also received 11 votes in a tight race for ACC Most Improved Player honors. However, that placed him in a tie for third place with Wright. Hurt won that title with 17 votes, and Miami shooting guard Isaiah Wong came in second with 13 votes.
Last season, Champagnie was passed over for postseason honors from the ACC despite averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game as a freshman. So his ACC Player of the Year snub is not unprecedented. But with that said, Champagnie’s first-team selection was historic, as he became the first Pitt player to win first-team All-ACC honors since Pitt became a member of the ACC in 2013.