Bishop Canevin’s Shea Champine goes from reserve to one of WPIAL’s top scorers

Shea Champine is one of the better stories in WPIAL basketball this season.

Champine (pronounced SHAM-PINE) is a senior at Bishop Canevin who spent most of his first three seasons on the pine as a reserve who normally played only a few minutes here and there. 

Now, almost out of nowhere, a spot might need to be reserved for Champine as being one of the area’s top players. He already has earned some hefty praise from one of the greatest coaches in WPIAL history

“He’s one of the top kids that I’ve ever coached and I’ve coached a lot of good players,” said first-year Bishop Canevin coach Tim McConnell, who has 670 career wins, 9 WPIAL championships and 1 PIAA title.

Champine, a 6-foot guard who has been part of three WPIAL championship teams in his career, is off to a torrid start for Class 2A Bishop Canevin (7-0), last year’s WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A champion which owns the longest current win streak in the district at 25 games. Champine ranks among the WPIAL scoring leaders with 27.3 points per game. He has poured in 41 points twice and has provided the winning basket in the closing seconds in two games.

It has been an unusual high school journey on and off the court for Champine, who lives in Brighton Heights. He attended Vincentian High School his freshman year, when he primarily played on the junior varsity team. But when Vincentian closed at the end of that school year, Champine and his older brother Trey had to find a new school, a search that ultimately led them to Bishop Canevin. As a sophomore, Champine said he didn’t play very much until the playoffs. And then as a junior, Champine started the first few games before a foot injury kept him out until late in the regular season. Upon return, Champine said he saw minimal time.

But while Champine’s scoring in bunches this season has come as a surprise to many, it hasn’t stunned him one bit. Champine has flashed his ability to fill up the basket in the past. He was a big scorer playing JV ball as a freshman and posted consecutive 20-point games in the playoffs his sophomore season.

“My freshman year, I was putting up 40 points in JV,” Champine said. “I would say I’ve always had that scoring ability. It was more of a confidence thing for me. Once Coach McConnell came in, he just built that confidence up, he made me a better person in school, just made my motivation go way up. I feel like the outside part is what is doing it for me. Just keeping my mind right and my body healthy.”

Count McConnell among those also not surprised by the tremendous play.

“When we first started playing, you just saw how hard he works, his body positioning, and the way he handles the ball. I knew he would be tough for people to guard,” he said.

Champine uncorked 29 points in the season opener against West Mifflin and tallied 41 against Belle Vernon (he made seven 3-pointers in that one) and Montour. His “clutch gene” was on display against Avonworth and Montour. In a 62-60 win against Avonworth, Champine scored the winning basket with 2.4 seconds left. He then connected on the tying and winning free throws with 18 seconds left in a 63-62 win Tuesday against Montour.

“When the game is on the line, the ball is going to be in his hands. There’s no two ways about it,” McConnell said. “The kid is a winner. I love his work ethic. I love his attitude. He’s just a joy to be around. Everything he does is so positive and it’s so enjoyable coaching him.”

Speaking of genes, Champine has some good basketball genes. His great uncle, Hosea Champine, starred at General Braddock High School in the 1970s before going on to play at Duquesne and Robert Morris. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 1979 NBA draft, the same one that produced Magic Johnson.

“I know he was a good player. He tells me about it,” Shea said, laughing.

Shea has two siblings. Trey graduated from Bishop Canevin earlier this year and now attends Slippery Rock. Blaze is a second grader who assists Canevin as a manager. Of Blaze, Shea said, “You’ll be watching him play on TV one day.”

Champine now is starting to see interest from colleges. Following his 41-point game Tuesday, Champine received his first offer from South Carolina Beaufort, a Division II program which will play its first season in 2023-24. The Sand Sharks will be coached by Ron Fudala, who spent the past four seasons as the associate head coach at IUP.

“I was excited for him to get his first offer and I think others will come because this kid can play at the next level,” said McConnell, who spent the previous 29 seasons at Chartiers Valley (25 with the boys, four with the girls).

Champine has played for three WPIAL championship coaches. He played for Tim Tyree at Vincentian and Gino Palmosina his first two seasons at Canevin. Palmosina left after last season to become the head coach at Moon.

Sure, the big point totals are nice, but Champine said he is focused on what could be another special season for Bishop Canevin, which could be popping champagne again in March. Champine saw his team’s state title runs derailed in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID before claiming his first crown last season.

“That would mean everything to me. That’s the goal,” he said. “When McConnell first came in, he said our goals are to win the section, win the WPIAL championship and then the state title. I would really like to be a part of that.”