Fifth-year senior forward Frank Champion continues to serve as a role model to his UTC teammates despite a season-ending injury.
photo by Ray Soldano/GoMocs.com
INDIANAPOLIS - Frank Champion is one of those guys who always seems to see the proverbial glass half full, his ever-present smile warmly welcoming all who cross his path. It’s a byproduct of his upbringing in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, further refined by both successes and setbacks during his college basketball journey.
Which is why the fifth-year senior transfer from North Georgia refuses to wallow in self-pity as his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (28-9) teammates prepare to face the University of California Irvine (32-6) Thursday night with the National Invitation Tournament title on the line. He’s too busy mastering the role that has been dealt him since a season-ending injury in early March, providing needed encouragement and insights from the bench.
Champion was considered the plum of head coach Dan Earl’s recruiting class that featured five transfers. He was a two-time All-America selection at the Division II level, departing as North Georgia’s career leader in both points (1,763) and rebounds (839). As a 6-foot-7 forward equally adept at distributing the basketball as he was at scoring, Champion’s arrival to Chattanooga was widely anticipated.
But a preseason foot injury delayed Champion’s debut, forcing him to miss the Mocs’ first eight games. Once he returned to competition, UTC’s offense began to click with much of the action flowing through Champion at the post position. He wound up being named Southern Conference newcomer of the year and earned second-team all-conference laurels, averaging 11.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per outing in 23 games.
But everything changed days before Chattanooga, riding an 11-game winning streak after capturing the SoCon regular season crown, was preparing for the conference tournament in Asheville, N.C. While going through typical drills at practice, Champion was halted by an all-too-familiar sudden pain in his knee.
“My emotions were all over the place right when it happened,” Champion said. “I kind of already knew what had happened, so it was frustrating. But the biggest thing I tried to do was stay positive. I remember immediately talking to my dad, and he is very religious, and he told me this was a test of my faith. As a parent he was kind of upset, too, that I had gotten injured because of the excitement about the conference tournament.”
Champion had suffered a similar injury to his other knee earlier in his career at North Georgia, so he was familiar with the obstacle he was facing. But he was still hopeful that he would be cleared to compete in Asheville.
“I was willing to give it a try, but it didn’t go the way I had hoped,” Champion said. “I didn’t think I could do it without hurting the team. It was extremely hard because you want to be out there, you want to give everything you’ve got for the guys. You feel like you let them down, but they were great reminding I helped get us there.”
Champion felt helpless as he watched UTC lose in the tournament semifinals in overtime to Furman, essentially ending their collective dreams of making it into the NCAA Tournament. But Champion soon recognized that there was another opportunity in front of the Mocs given their selection to participate in the NIT.
“I tell myself I’ve got to be an everyday guy and give all I’ve got regardless of the situation,” Champion said. “I think I've done that, and I think my teammates see that. When they saw my frustration with my injury, they knew to pour back into me. It’s just amazing to see the run that we're on, to see how the guys are clicking, just to keep this thing going. I think it just shows how much we really value and play for each other. I love that about this team.”
Champion has taken on the role of mentoring the three post players – Collin Mulholland, Makai Richards, and Latif Diouf – who have capably served as his replacement. It’s something that brings him great satisfaction.
“I don't think I can put into words how proud I am of the other guys for stepping up,” Champion said. “Every day, we all mess with each other. We all get on each other, but we all compete. I'm so proud of them because they trusted me to give them advice. Our whole season has been up and down for the bigs. Some of them started, and when I came back their minutes changed. But it just shows that they're willing to invest, and I can respect that more than anything.”
While disappointed he hasn’t been able to compete since his injury, Champion has enjoyed the NIT experience that finds the Mocs on the precipice of being among the few teams to finish the season winning a championship.
“You never know but if my injury hadn’t happened, we might not be here right now,” Champion said as the Mocs practiced at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday. “It's kind of surreal. I don't know if a lot of people outside of basketball realize how big the NIT is. I remember watching it growing up, and now we’re in it playing for a championship. I don't think it's hit some of us for real yet.”
With aspirations of playing at the professional level, Champion must first have surgery to repair his knee. He’s even toying with the idea of seeking an extra year from the NCAA given the lost time during his career battling physical setbacks.
But there is one thing for sure – Champion has made a profound impact during his year at UTC even though things didn’t unfold as he had originally hoped.
“I don't look at it this season like a disappointment,” Champion said. “I’m trying to keep my faith and look at it as part of a greater plan that I don't really know about yet. So, I kind of try to keep it that way. Of course, I would love to be out here with the guys. It’s the same mindset I had at the beginning of the year. I've been through it once, and I can do it again. My thing is just staying focused on the main thing, which is staying together as a group and being a leader even though I’m not out there.”
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com