Pitt small forward Justin Champagnie was named the ACC Player of the Week on Monday, following historic back-to-back 20-point, 20-rebound games against Northwestern and Gardner-Webb. And while Champagnie may have seemed like the obvious choice for the honor, it’s worth noting that such obvious answers have eluded ACC officials before — especially with regard to the Brooklyn native.
Last season, Champagnie won National Freshman of the Week honors after posting a career-high 30 points in Pitt’s 73-64 win over Georgia Tech. Champagnie’s performance also saw him win back-to-back ACC Freshman of the Week honors. But despite multiple in-season awards at the conference and national level, the Pitt wing was snubbed for All-ACC honors, receiving no votes in any category.