Five star guard Josh Christopher has taken us all on a long winding road of a recruiting trail these last couple of months. After quite a bit of toying with his large following on social media, his final decision is expected to come at some point on Monday.
Christopher is a heavy-favorite to wind up with the Michigan Wolverines and head coach Juwan Howard as 11 Crystal Balls have been entered for the No. 10 recruit in the 2020 class, all with the talented guard ending up in Ann Arbor.
The budding star cut his list to four a few weeks ago with UCLA, Arizona State, Missouri, and Michigan being the final four. Then, seemingly out of no where he added USC back onto his list after former NBA and USC guard “Swaggy P” Nick Young tweeted that he could be special if he joined the Trojans.
There have been countless graphics made by fans of Christopher that he has posted on his timeline from all of his remaining schools as he constantly added fuel to the chaotic fire that has been his recruitment.
Needless to say, this is all going to be worth it for whichever fan base ends up with Christopher. He has great size for a two-guard standing a 6-foot-5 and has a substantial amount of athleticism to go along with it. He has great handles and a strong ability to finish near the rim while also having the prowess to pull up and hit a jay off the dribble. He could very well wind up as a one-and-done player and will be an instant contributor for wherever he ends up.
Here is a snippet of his highlights to show just how good this kid is:
Stay tuned to Maize n Brew as we will have a full breakdown on all of the events that transpire today with Christopher’s commitment.
Andy Katz has Michigan at No. 8 in first Power 36 of 2020-21
Unfortunately the 2019-20 season was brought to an abrupt end before the Madness of March could really begin as the NCAA called of their championship tournament.
But, there will be a day where college basketball resumes play, and one of the faces of it, Andy Katz, is certainly chomping at the bit.
Katz released his way-too-early rankings for the top teams in the country next season, and has the Wolverines as high as the eighth best team coming into next season. Here is what he had to say:
8) Michigan: The Wolverines do take a hit by losing Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske. But if Isaiah Livers returns then the Wolverines will be even higher than this prediction. Livers could be a first-team all-Big Ten if he comes back. Having Franz Wagner, Brandon Johns, Eli Brooks and bigs Austin Davis and Colin Castleton means this squad has more significant rotation players than most. The Athletic reported David DeJulius entered the transfer portal. Oh and they’ve potentially got a top-five recruiting class with Isaiah Todd.
Of course, Castleton transferred last week.
Katz mentions the potential return of Livers giving the Wolverines a bump on the list, but if the aforementioned Christopher hops on the wagon there is going to be even more talent and depth for Howard and his coaching staff to choose from. Imagine having to choose a starting lineup from Isaiah Livers, Josh Christopher, Franz Wagner, Eli Brooks, Brandon Johns Jr, Mike Smith, and Hunter Dickinson. It certainly is a great problem to have.
So that’s the good news. The bad news is that the Big Ten isn’t getting any easier. Katz has Iowa at No. 5, Wisconsin at No. 6, Michigan State at No. 12, Rutgers at No. 13, Illinois at No. 21, Indiana at No. 31, Purdue at No. 33 and Ohio State at No. 36. That is eight Big Ten programs in the Top-36 teams in the country. That’s without mentioning that Maryland and Penn State are listed as bubble teams for his rankings. We are going to see another wild season in Big Ten country in 2020-21.
National Brews:
- Tiger Woods relived his Masters Tournament win from last season with Jim Nantz on CBS yesterday.
Enjoyed catching up with Jim Nantz to talk about my W at last year’s @TheMasters. It was a special final round, I’ll be watching @CBSSports at 12:30 p.m. ET. pic.twitter.com/jn7rEDGNuN
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 12, 2020
- Speaking of tigers, in case you missed it Tiger King fans, Netflix added an 8th episode to the documentary with as actor Joel McHale interviewing several of the crazy characters from the series. However, neither Joe Exotic nor “that b**** Carole Baskin” made an appearance.
- The composite No. 5 recruit in the 2020 Class, Ziaire Williams committed to Stanford basketball on Sunday. Willaims was also considering UCLA and USC, much like Christopher.