Cal Basketball: Patrick Christopher's Little Brother Following His Own Path

Josh Christopher is an SI third-team high school All-American

A decade after Patrick Christopher left Cal as the Bears’ No. 3 all-time leading scorer his younger brother is planning to play his college basketball elsewhere.

Josh Christopher, a senior at Mayfair High in Lakewood and a third-team selection to Sports Illustrated’s high school All-America team, says he will choose among UCLA, Michigan, Missouri and Arizona State.

Cal is nowhere to be found on his list.

That’s a shame for Bears’ fans because if Josh is even as good as his brother — and he may be better — he would a treat for the Haas Pavilion crowd.

Josh Christopher is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, just like his big brother. He averaged 29.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.1 steals per game this season while playing alongside Syracuse-bound Dior Johnson.

Patrick Christopher / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Patrick Christopher wasn’t a third-team All-American in high school, but he was a top-50 prospect who averaged 21 points as a senior at Dominguez High.

And he compiled an accomplished four-year career at Cal, capped by a senior season in which he helped the Bears win their first conference championship in 50 years.

That 2009-10 team, coached by Mike Montgomery, was 24-11 and beat Louisville in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, boosted by 17 points from Christopher. Other key players on that team were Jerome Randle, Theo Robertson, Jamal Boykin and sophomore Jorge Gutierrez.

Christopher averaged 5.2 points as a freshman, then was named the team’s most improved player after scoring 15.2 per game as a sophomore.

He averaged 14.5 points as a junior, when he included a career-high 29-point performance among eight games of 20 or more. As a senior, he averaged 15.6 points and hit 20 or more 12 times.

Christopher won the team’s Pete Newell Coaches Award both his junior and senior seasons and was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection both years.

Josh Christopher will be lucky to have a college career as good as his big brother.