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Five-star Josh Christopher commits to ASU, Hurley hauls in Top 15 player

Success in college basketball splits into two categories. There are on-court triumphs. You know, actual wins, real-life trophies. And then there’s recruiting, which oddly seems to inject a fan base with more hope and reason for gasconade in the moment.


Josh Christopher has inspired the Arizona State program with much of the latter over the last few months. He was extremely tight-lipped on his recruitment and seemed to relish in his ability to throw smoke-screens and veiled messages to fans from all over the country.


If recruiting is a game, Christopher wanted to be the banker in ‘Monopoly.’ He controlled everything.


Perhaps that makes the five-star guard’s commitment to the Sun Devils that much sweeter. Monday feels like a banner-raising moment for coach Bobby Hurley and the Arizona State program. Not because it garnered any actual wins or tournament appearances -- those designations are still months from being discussed. Instead, Hurley knocked out his heavyweight champ. The former Duke point guard has been lauded for his recruiting ability -- and gained some prosperity in the area over the years -- but never held the grandiose prize.


Christopher changes that.

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Josh Christopher is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard with obscene athleticism and scoring ability that makes you question his competition, if only for the sheer dominance he put forward at Mayfair High in Southern California. During his senior season, Christopher averaged about 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while being named a McDonald’s All-American.


In Rivals’ database, the five-star was the nation’s 11th-best prospect. That ties ASU’s most notable haul since then coach Herb Sendek brought the No. 11 player of the 2007 class -- another Los Angeles guard -- to Tempe. That, of course, was James Harden.


Harden’s recruitment was in the days before fans tried to act as codebreakers for every Twitter post a recruit sent out. And, boy, did Christopher enable that. He kept his decision pressing against his vest. His top five was ASU, Michigan, Missouri, UCLA, and USC. It seemed -- at one point or another -- every school could have talked itself into believing Christopher was coming.


In the end, it appeared to be a two-horse race between ASU and Michigan. Between Bobby Hurley and Michigan coach Juwan Howard. The Wolverines had a few clear advantages. A more prestigious history. Actual banners hanging. Real tradition. And a long list of draft picks and NBA stars -- something Christopher made known was extremely important.

“I think relationship means a lot to him,” said Josh’s father Laron Christopher. “He’s a different kid, being in a situation as far as basketball is concerned being at Mayfair High School for the number of years that he was (four years) and be able to go in the space that is unchartered waters. Arizona State never won a Pac-12 championship. My oldest son Pat (former Cal player Patrick Christopher) won a championship and that was the first time in 50 years. We haven’t gone anywhere where we didn’t win championships.


“That’s important.”


Laron Christopher cited the obvious high level of comfort with the Arizona State staff, one that naturally helped the Sun Devils sign his older son, Caleb Christopher, was who a freshman this past season. The school’s proximity to their Southern California home, especially with the current COVID-19 pandemic was another aspect that was ultimately significant in Josh Christopher’s decision.


“I think family is important,” Christopher commented. “And the staff just made the environment at Arizona State really, really conducive for a great place to be. It’s far away but also close enough to our house. He’s been on campus many times and being comfortable on the campus I think is critical too.

“There was no pressure from me. Part of this is being an 18-year old adult now and making this decision on his own. He has to be responsible for the decision he makes. We learned to support the things that our children have passionate about and we've been successful by doing that, by building great relationships with people.”


The success of the Sun Devils under head coach Bobby Hurley isn’t only quite evident to the fan base, but also to families of recruits such as the Christopher's. Watching his older son Pat play for the Golden Bears some 13 years ago, truly gives Laron Christopher perspective as to major strides the program is making these days in comparison.


“I’ve been around this for a while and I’ve seen basketball culture,” Christopher stated, “and I’m really confident that ASU hasn't had a player like Josh since James Harden. It's just something special that you could see in his personality and the angle in which he approaches the game.


“We are about winning. You ask players in the NBA ‘what do you care about?’ and all they care about is winning. If Josh’s goal isn’t to win, why play the game? He's been around wins and losses at ASU. And if he didn’t see that team make the NCAA Tournament, that means he didn’t see many positives and he had other options.”



The Sun Devils boasted Hurley’s free-flowing system, a match made in heaven for a guard with a skill-set as advanced as Christopher’s. They had proximity to Christopher’s home on the West Coast. And, perhaps most notably, they had Caleb Christopher.


Caleb, a freshman guard, arrived in Tempe last season. It was a tactical move to help lure his other-worldly brother to Hurley’s squad in 2020.


It paid off.


Because of Caleb’s presence on the Sun Devil roster, Christopher and his father, Laron, were regulars at Desert Financial Arena. On more than a half-dozen occasions, Christopher had a front-row seat behind the ASU bench. He was in the locker room. He shot baskets on the court postgame. And Hurley would at times walk Laron out of the building, the pair discussing the night’s game plan and execution.


It was as if Christopher took 10 unofficial visits to Arizona State. He was a constant presence around the program’s players, coaches, and fans. That can’t be understated.

Bobby Hurley, Josh Christopher and Rashon Burno during their in-home visit with the five-star guard
Bobby Hurley, Josh Christopher and Rashon Burno during their in-home visit with the five-star guard

It’s no secret Christopher’s intention to dart off to the NBA in a year. In a way, that makes him almost more valuable to the Sun Devils. It helps build a brand as a place where great prospects can succeed. That attracts future high-profile recruits and sets the base for the Sun Devils a track record off.


Following the 2018-19 season, ASU guard Luguentz Dort became the Sun Devils’ first-ever one-and-done player. Despite not being drafted he still started in 29 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder and becoming a fixture in the starting lineup before the NBA went on its COVID-19 forced hiatus.


In college basketball’s new era, where blue bloods form teams with a revolving door of one-and-dones, Hurley has never landed a no-doubt-about-it one-and-done name. Dort was never a certainty during his recruitment or even while he was playing.


In other words, Hurley -- and arguably ASU as a whole -- has never landed a player of Christopher’s caliber.


Will that result in wins, an NCAA Tournament appearance or never-before-seen success. Who knows? And, right now, who cares?


But it’s hard to picture Christopher’s announcement, and expected official signing this Wednesday, not boosting the Sun Devils into the top 25 of some preseason polls. He’ll be joined by the country’s No. 29 recruit and fellow five-star Marcus Bagley, the first time that Hurley was able to land two five star prospects (according to Rivals) since he arrived in Tempe.

Junior Alonzo Verge, who turned into the Devils’ most dynamic scorer at the end of last season, winning Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year as a junior college transfer -- and freshman Jalen House -- a defensive menace -- both return to the roster, along with notable players such as forwards Kimani Lawrence, Taeshon Cherry, and Jalen Graham.


ASU stands to be loaded with proven talent, and that’s before the Sun Devils find out for certain if forward Romello White and guard Remy Martin -- who accounted for nearly 40 percent of ASU’s scoring last season -- will return to school or keep their names in the NBA draft.


Hurley, who still has to find some puzzle pieces to complete his squad, can spend the rest of his quarantine going over roster construction and sorting through possible lineups. That’ll be important in due time. After all, he doesn’t want Christopher’s talent to have the same non-impact as, say, for five-stars Romeo Langford had at Indiana or Ben Simmons at LSU.


But, for now, he and the Sun Devils can celebrate the program’s most notable addition ever.

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