Cal basketball offers 2020 scholarship to Joshua Christopher, Patrick’s younger brother

Fan favorite Patrick Christopher has a younger brother making waves as a 5-star recruit in the class of 2020. Back in June, the Bears became the first program to offer a scholarship to Joshua Christopher of Mayfair High School in Lakewood (Ca.). That scholarship offer — apparently — served as a beacon for the flood gates to open as Arizona, Florida State, UCLA, UNLV, UCSB, and USC have all since offered the 6-4, 190 pound shooting guard.

ESPN ranks Christopher as a five-star and 18th overall in their current top 25 recruits of 2020 rankings. According to Ryan Gorcey of Scout, Christopher averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals per game on 47 percent shooting from the field in limited minutes this season.

Here are some interesting snippets from Gorcey’s story on Christopher:

Christopher was on the sidelines as a ballboy for his big brother, Patrick Christopher, and his Cal teammates, as the Bears clinched the outright Pac-10 regular-season title.

"That was the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life," said the younger Christopher, who sounds just like his older brother. "I remember I got to walk down the court with my brother. It was Senior Night. I got to walk down the carpet with my brother, to mid-court, and at the end of the game, I remember them going crazy, the fans rushing the court. The buzzer rang, and everybody went crazy."

On Sunday, Patrick Christopher was hanging with one of his teammates on that title-winning team, Theo Robertson, who's now one of new head coach Wyking Jones's assistants. Robertson told the older Christopher to tell his youngest brother -- now a 2020 shooting guard prospect -- that he had his first offer.

"It wasn't a surprise, but it was kind of like, 'Wow,'" said Joshua Christopher. "This is where my brother went to college. They see what they saw in my brother. It's cool. It's something I can share with my brother, because I think Cal was his first offer, as well ... It's kind of crazy, because when I posted [the offer], I put a picture of my brother, and Theo was in the background."

Rivals refers to Christopher as a “physcially gifted and talented scoring guard that can really shoot the basketball.” Here is what else they had to say on the blossoming young guard.

Holding offers from some of the very best programs on the west coast before entering his sophomore year, California is a school that has pre-existing ties to the talented guard.

“I have a great connection with the school,” he said. “It is just an honor to maybe step on the same floor that my brother played on and represent him on the court.”

Christopher boasts everything that a high-major college program is looking for in a scoring guard. He is someone that can score the ball in heavy amounts from the three-point arc, is a quality athlete at the basket and is more than willing to compete against the very best.

Christopher competed for the Cal Supreme squad in the CP3 Memorial Day Classic earlier this year. Rivals labeled him a standout from the competition featuring other top prospects from the 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes.

A smooth scorer who loves to shoot pull-up jump shots, Christopher also has some sneaky explosion when going to the rim. When things got tough late in a semifinal game against MoKan Elite, he went on a scoring spree when his team needed him most. He helped Cal Supreme win the 16U title.

Christopher looks an adept finisher as he displays an array of nifty moves which allow him to alter his shot in mid-air to avoid block attempts and finish at the rim. He also has a smooth shooting motion which he uses to deadly effect at mid and long range. Christopher also demonstrates good dribbling in the open court and in transition.

He also has great leaping ability which leads to some monster jams, and one of his most featured moves from his bag of tricks appears to be a step-back jumper which he puts to great use in creating just that little bit of separation needed to get a clear look at the bucket over defenders in close proximity.

The younger Christopher definitely looks like an intriguing prospect, but there’s a long way to go in his recruitment. Should he continue to develop at this rate then he would certainly represent a great addition to the Cal basketball roster a few years down the road.

What do you guys think about Joshua Christopher?