Joshua Christopher stunned the college basketball recruiting world Monday night.
The five-star Class of 2020 shooting guard committed to Arizona State over Michigan with a late-night announcement.
Many in college basketball assumed the 6-foot-5 Christopher was heading to Ann Arbor. The 247 Sports Crystal Ball had Michigan as the 91 percent favorite among 11 recruiting analysts. But Christopher did the (practically) unthinkable and pledged to the Sun Devils.
According to Eli Boettger, Christopher represents the biggest recruiting flip of a top-10 recruit since 247 Sports started its Crystal Ball recruiting predictor. For reference, Andrew Wiggins, from the Class of 2013, is on that list. So the California native staying out west and playing in the Pac-12 is one of the biggest recruiting surprises of the last decade.
With Christopher, Arizona State adds one of the most complete scorers in the 2020 class. Not many freshmen are three-level scorers physically mature enough to thrive right away. At 215 pounds, armed with an array of scoring moves, Christopher checks some notable boxes. The No. 11 overall prospect in the Class 2020, Christopher should make an impact right away.
The addition of Joshua Christopher makes the Sun Devils an intriguing potential preseason top-25 team. Romello White and Remy Martin are both testing the 2020 NBA draft waters. But if both (or even one) returns, Arizona State has a fleet of dangerous weapons at its disposal.
Alonzo Verge, Kimani Lawrence and Taeshon Cherry are a talented core expected to return. The addition of Christopher means another likely double-figure scorer. He helps offset the loss of Rob Edwards. Getting Martin and/or White back would just be the icing on the cake. Head coach Bobby Hurley would be running back mostly the same roster as last season. Except a potential one-and-done prospect is replacing Edwards in the lineup.
That’s the type of team who could make serious noise in the Pac-12. Between the addition of five-star wing Ziare Williams to Stanford and Christopher’s commitment to Arizona State, it’s been a huge week for the Pac-12.
