Josh Christopher develops into big time 2020 prospect
Just six months ago, sophomore shooting guard Josh Christopher was barely even being recruited. Now, he's a top 25 player nationally and one of the West Coast's premier recruiting targets in the class of 2020.
Rivals.com first saw Christopher playing 16U ball for his travel team California Supreme in late April. At the time, he was about 6-foot-1 and showed offensive skill but told us that he had no offers and only USC was even recruiting him.
A growth spurt has taken him to 6-foot-4 and after flourishing during the summer Christopher now holds offers from Arizona, California, Florida State, Oregon, UCLA, UCSB, UNLV and USC. He gives the credit to hard work and time spent in the gym with his older brother Patrick Christopher who ranked in the top 50 of the 2006 Rivals150.
"I just thought I needed to get into the gym with my brother Pat," said Christopher. "It was statement time. I felt like it was my time to shine and I had the perfect opportunity. Fortunately I made the best out of it and good things have happened."
Christopher is a dangerous shooter from deep, has game off the dribble and is an impressive mid range player. What really sets him apart, though, is his strength and ability to be athletic through contact. His confidence doesn't hurt either.
"It makes the game harder if you are a defender," said Christopher of his strength and athleticism. "If you let me shoot, I'm going to hit the shot. If you guard me up close I'm going to the basket and it's going to be a nightmare for you.
"The next step is playing high school ball and trying to get a ring on my finger. I want to make sure my brother Caleb goes out with a bang his senior year."
Because his older brother Pat has been through the recruiting process before and made it all the way to the NBA, he'll have plenty of input with his younger brother though Josh is in no hurry.
"He lets me make my own decisions and he's trying to help me be a man," said Christopher. "He will tell me what he thinks is best and guide me along the way but he won't be too pushy.
"I don't have anything planned right now. I'm locked in on getting ready for this high school season and there's certainly nothing official yet. I've got a lot of time to look at all of this recruiting stuff."