OXFORD – Craig “Alex” Champlin will be another feather in the cap of the United States Military Academy come this fall.
Champlin is already the prize plume for Oxford and its basketball team. A dedicated student at the top of his class, a volunteer who gives away his time freely to help others, it’s hard to believe he has time to brush up on his basketball game.
Yet he finds time to hard at it – like everything he does – and is leading the Blackhawks toward a third straight MAC divisional championship. A third-year varsity player who is approaching 800 career points, Champlin has proven almost unstoppable this season. He leads Chenango County scorers at 20.6 points per game, leads his own team in rebounding, steals and field goal percentage, and is perhaps the most well-rounded basketball player in Chenango County this season.
“He played for us in the Stars and Stripes Classic last year, and he played all five positions for us,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott, who has also coached against Champlin and the Blackhawks the last three seasons. “He just loves basketball and he gives you everything he’s got. He’s a great player and even a better person.”
Champlin will begin his West Point appointment in the fall, but in the meantime, he has work left to do in his final year of school. The Blackhawks are in the midst of a 10-game winning streak, and will likely clinch the MAC Division II title this weekend or early next week.
For his season-long excellence, Champlin is this week’s Smith Ford LLC/Evening Sun Athlete of the Week.
“He’s a great kid, and a hard worker in the classroom and on the court,” said Oxford head coach Tim Davis. “He’s turned into a good leader and he’s a very unselfish player. He’ll always pass up his own shot for a someone else who has a higher percentage shot.”
Champlin diligently works at his game spending countless hours on his own or with his father Jim on basketball drills. He reviews game films with his father, and is the epitome of a “coach on the floor.”
“He’s immersed himself in basketball so much, and he’s confident and smart about the game,” Davis said. “He’s been a ballhandler all the way up through, he defends, he passes, he rebounds, and he can score. Really, he has the whole package.”
Champlin started his varsity career as a sophomore out of the limelight on a veteran team that had several talented players. There was no shortage of talent on the 2007-2008 squad either. Champlin, as a junior, averaged 14.0 points per game on team that advanced to the Section IV, Class C finals.
Now, the senior Blackhawk is typically the focus of other team’s game plans. Still, he has eight games of at least 20 points, a season-high of 31 points against Harpursville, and just one game out of double figures.
“It’s been a natural progression for a kid moved up early, especially for one who is not cocky or overconfident,” Davis said. “He’s worked on his game and waited for his time to shine. Now he’s doing that.”