An Interview with Top '20 prospect 5-star Joshua Christopher
In the interview, he breaks down his Top schools (Michigan, Kentucky, UCLA, Mizzou, ASU, and Howard) and what appeals to him from each school.
Definitely a diverse group from which to choose...and from his legit reasoning for each in such a diverse group, I can see him rocking with any on the list.
The things he mentioned about Michigan though (mainly one in particular) were pretty interesting.
I'm going to read between the lines and take the inclusion of both a Howard and Michigan in the pool as a subtle hint/sign that he's going to ultimately go with the good guys.
October 3rd, 2019 at 6:43 AM ^
Hmm...very impressive young man. I will take a kid with that maturity and attitude any day...and he can play a little too. Zeb, Nimari and Josh would make quite the trio manning the backcourt-and they could go small and put all three on the court. He might be a two-and-done...I don't think he will leave after only one year.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:10 AM ^
Well Braylon Edwards probably disagrees here.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:21 AM ^
Never trust a man with two first names.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:00 AM ^
Life lessons
Don't ever try to manhandle a cowboy.
If you see a red sash, that's a cowboy. Then you can refer back to the fact that you shouldn't try to manhandle one
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
Actually, never trust a woman with two first names is a much more important life lesson.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
“Never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never go near a lady who’s got a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
Everything else is cream cheese.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:32 PM ^
Never trust a Sicilian when death is on the line
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:22 AM ^
Blue-Ray, here's hoping you're a good prognosticator.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:31 AM ^
I haven't clicked the article but it's going to take a strong argument for me to believe a 1 and done player will go to an HBCU.
October 3rd, 2019 at 8:04 AM ^
Maybe he read Jemele Hill’s article.
Honestly, if he’s a 1&d then why not go wherever he wants even if it’s an HBCU where he may be more comfortable? He’ll be drafted regardless
October 3rd, 2019 at 8:20 AM ^
Because they are playing for draft position. The difference between a low and high lottery pick is huge, and going to an hbcu could mean that difference. Either way he would likely get drafted, but even a few spots is a big deal in the lottery.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^
Lamelo Ball is not even playing college ball, and he might be the first pick. Scouts could care less where you play if you got the talent.
October 3rd, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
Because of his family, LaMelo Ball already has a brand. The average ESPN viewer has no idea who Josh Christopher is. His endorsement deals early in his career will suffer if he plays at an HBCU.
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
Yeah because Mo, Jordan Poole, and Trey Burke are rolling in endorsement money. He’ll get plenty coverage nationwide because he’ll be doing something most don’t.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:40 PM ^
The average fan is not an NBA scout. Solid argument.
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
Ja Morant was the #2 pick this past year out of Murray State. Murray isnt an HBCU and higher on the totem pole of CBB, but if you can play you can go in the lottery no matter where you are. Lillard was 6th out of Weber State fwiw
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:02 AM ^
One and done's aren't developing all that much in college anyways. Skill development is done in the offseason and refined during the season. I don't know how well off his family is, but they could hire a trainer to work with him individually if they're worried about development. But there's alot of good coaching at the lower levels. There would be questions about competition level, but I would have a hard time not seeing him average 25+ a game at an HBCU. Could be good for his brand too.
For draft, pay scale matters within the top 8 or so. After that, there's a $200,000 or less difference in each spot and it gets smaller and smaller the farther you go. Second contract and endorsements matter more than anything else.
October 3rd, 2019 at 10:23 AM ^
You still have to build your brand. Part of that involves playing on TV. If he goes to an HBCU, he won't be seen on TV until he walks into the green room next June at the draft.
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^
What if they promise him and Makur Maker (visiting Howard for homecoming) a non-conference gauntlet that includes Duke, UNC, Kansas and a few other name brand schools? Those two, plus a transfer or two, would probably be enough for them to get the autobid from the MEAC and a date in the NCAA tournament.
I don't think it's that far-fetched an idea.
As an aside, there's an article out there trying to convince HBCU's to ditch the NCAA in favor of paying athletes. I see issues logistically, but considering the NCAA takes out all their rage on the Gramblings of the world, I wouldn't be upset if they gave the middle finger to the NCAA.
October 3rd, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
that's not how it works, thats not how any of this works.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:07 AM ^
Wow, I will give Juwan credit, we are in the top group for a bunch of these top 40 players. If he lands even 2 of them, thats a huge win. I hope he has some really good assistants. I can see him being a great recruiter/face of the program, and then he just needs some great assistants to develop the talent he lands. I would imagine he is VERY relatable to a lot of these recruits.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:23 AM ^
I'm not surprised... Howard became exactly what all of them want to be (multi-year NBA players), and probably is most qualified to get them there of all the coaches, irrespective of who gets them to win the most games like Izzo, who doesn't prepare his players at all for the NBA.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
This is highly underrated.
Truthfully speaking, what college coach out there could better prepare a college player for the NBA than Juwan Howard?
October 3rd, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
Idk, maybe one of the guys who has done it consistently for years and years?
Howard hasn't coached a college game yet, let's pump the brakes
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:21 AM ^
I didn't catch the subtlety you're referring to here..Can you elaborate please? But after seeing the video I did notice him subconsciously nodding his head each and every time the interviewer mentioned Michigan.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
I was just kidding by making Coach Howard and Howard the college sharing the name mean something...haha
I do wonder though if him now being friends with Poole is a good or not so good thing. I understood Poole's feelings but many didn't, very vocally.
Didn't want to include that and take away from how cool of a guy JC seems to be in the interview.
Could definitely be a great feather in the cap for Michigan if Poole can paint the picture of the awesome fans and campus life from the First year and 3/4 of him being here.
October 3rd, 2019 at 9:53 AM ^
Probably my favorite prospect in this class! Hope we can pull him away from the west coast. Kid could be a game changer for Coach Howard
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
I'm sticking with Nimari as my #1 because of the depth and breadth of his game. However, after watching this piece, Josh jumps way up my chart.