Josh Christopher hosts ASU coaches
Just a few weeks before the preseason practices begin in earnest, college basketball coaches are zigzagging the country visiting their top prospects in-person. Thus, at the beginning of this recruiting period, it only stood to reason that the Sun Devil staff would visit five-star shooting guard prospect and Top-15 recruit, Josh Christopher.
Following that visit, we caught up with Josh's father, Laron Christopher who spokes about the recruitment process between ASU and his son.
“It was a really, really fun,” Laron Christopher said of the in-home visit with Arizona State. “We have a lot of respect for what coach Hurley and his staff are doing. Coach Hurley was here with (associate head coach) Rashon Burno. The entire recruiting process with them has been amazing. Whenever you talk to a Hall of Fame coach (Hurley was inducted into the Duke Hall of Fame in 2011), you get to see his insight as to how the game is really supposed to be played. We talked about what he sees in Josh as a collegiate athlete and a player at the next level. He talked about his relationship with his father (Bob Sr. who inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010), his relationship with his staff and how well he connects with his team.
“These are all things you look for in a great head coach and how he’s going to mesh with your kid. Right now, we’re getting a bird’s eye view of how he coaches and that’s a lot of fun.”
One possible advantage ASU has pursuing this heavily coveted prospect is the fact that Laron’s son, Caleb Christopher, will be a freshman on this year's Sun Devil squad. Needless to say, that not only has the Christopher family learned quite a bit about the program during Caleb’s recruitment, but are now gaining even more insight after his arrival to campus.
“Caleb is having the time of his life,” Laron Christopher remarked. “He’s really enjoying it there. He’s very coachable and he loves the coaches there. We were already there for an official visit (for Josh) and we plan to be there for a bunch of games to see Caleb and have Josh come with us for those visits. So that’s the beauty of it, seeing the coaches in the trenches and how that affects both of them (his sons) together.
“You don’t get to learn a lot from coaches when you’re there on a weekend visit (without a game being played). So, this is why we want to see ASU games and see those coaches in the trenches. They have been very welcoming to have us come see them practice in the gym too.”
Style of play is one aspect that Christopher said attracted his older son Caleb to the Sun Devils and is naturally also resonating strongly with his younger son Josh. Christopher said that he was first exposed to ASU two seasons ago during the ‘Guard U’ year in Tempe where ASU was a perfect 12-0 in non-conference play.
“Josh is a guy who can play anywhere,” Christopher said. “His IQ and intelligence will show that. Because he’s extremely confident and loves being the go-to guy and I think he would fit in perfectly. His style of play is one of more freedom and that is really critical when he decides which school to go to.
“Regardless where he goes, Josh if not being the best player on the team will be at least one of the best. This isn’t because I’m saying that, but because I see him working hard to be one of the best.”
It's no secret that Josh Christopher is poised to enter the NBA draft after playing just one year of college basketball. Therefore, how much the coaching staffs of the school pursuing the shooting guard support such a decision by their players, is another significant consideration in the recruitment process. This why the Christopher family inquired with Hurley about the process he went through when last year’s freshman guard, Luguentz Dort, decided to leave Tempe and begin his professional career.
“I wanted to hear from him (Hurley) what he tells his players about the benefit of leaving early,” Christopher stated. “I wanted to know what he was thinking on that because there comes a point where a player is now in the draft and can’t go back to school. So, I wanted to find out what was Hurley’s perpetration for his players turning pro. And Hurley is pro, not only with his coaching insight but also as someone who played there (in the NBA).
“He said that he was very involved in the process and do recommend their players to test the waters and get as much feedback from NBA guys and Hurley knows a lot of GM’s, coaches and scouts. “He said that the NBA will always let you know where a player stands before he takes that next step, and based on that he advises his players.”
Christopher said that his son Josh is resolute to only make his commitment after his senior season at Lakewood (Calif.) Mayfair High School, and thus is only planning to sign with the school of his choice in April (the period runs April 15th through May 20th, 2020).
“That’s the way he wants to do it,” Christopher said. “I made all of his AAU basketball decision, so this college decision – I think he should make it. I’ll guide him, but it will be his decision. My sons are extremely balanced with their social life and they know where their priorities are at. They’ll make sure first their grades are right and second make sure their game is right.
“They don’t get those confused, because if they do, they know that they won’t have an opportunity to play at a high-major Division I school.”
No other schools have visited the Christopher’s this month, yet Laron Christopher does expect the rest of Josh’s Top-5 schools (in no order) Kentucky, UCLA, Missouri and Michigan to visit as well.
“We don’t rush anything or ask for anything,” Christopher explained. “We take things as they come. We’re not going to go to a school because of other players that are there, we will go to a school that presents the best environment to be successful. If you don’t do it for that reason, you are wasting your time.”
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