Five-star shooting guard Josh Christopher (6-5, Rivals.com's No. 11 senior nationally) out of Lakewood (Cali.) Mayfair appears to be closing in on a decision. As we wrote yesterday, he's hinted toward a Monday decision — April 13 is his dad's birthday — and most believe that's when he'll announce on social media.
We asked his dad, Laron, for comment to see if he'd confirm the date.
"You know Josh," he responded.
In other words ... possibly, but you never know. Christopher is enjoying the process, as he should given world events and the fact that he's only going to do this once. But his dad did offer, "stay tuned," which seems to be a pretty good indication that this one is finally coming to an end.
Nothing has changed on our end. We expect him to end up at Michigan, and so do sources close to the program ("not if, but when"). Most prognosticators agree, but Arizona State Rivals publisher Hod Rabino is one of the holdouts. We asked him the reason for his Sun Devils optimism.
"It's obviously a story I'm tracking closely, and to date, I haven't heard that he's a lock to Michigan," he said. "One way or another ... it's entirely possible that he's saying different things to different people. I have no problem changing my prediction if the information I receive warrants that."
We asked two national analysts, Rivals.com's Corey Evans and Eric Bossi, for their opinions, both on Christopher as a player and on where they thought he'd end up. Evans was the first nationally to list the Wolverines the leader several months ago, and his opinion hasn't changed.
"Josh is a tough-minded, two-way guard," Evans said. "He is someone you want to watch. More of a scoring weapon growing up, he has evolved into a tremendous defensive weapon along the perimeter. He has great size, the strength and confidence to impact the high rung immediately next year, which I see him doing at Michigan.
"I get the intrigue that is UCLA, the family connections at Arizona State and Missouri, along with the late run USC has made, but Michigan has been the team to beat for months now. Other' have made a late run at it, but Christopher becomes the latest recruiting win for Juwan Howard."
Bossi, meanwhile, doesn't see him as a lock, but he's comfortable enough to choose the Wolverines, as well.
"Christopher is a strong, athletic and skilled shot maker who has proven himself time and time again to be one of the most elite scorers in the class of 2020," he said. "He is a good ball handler who can create his own offense, an explosive finisher at the rim and has all of the tools to be a lockdown defender when he's really engaged in the game.
"Anybody who has followed him also knows that he is a big personality and enjoys social media and interacting with followers. That personality makes him a little bit of a wild card, so there's never anything really certain with him and where he might go. However, at least for the last few months, the best information I can find leads me to believe that Michigan has the best shot at landing him. He's got a great relationship with Juwan Howard and if Michigan misses, it won't be for lack of effort or poor strategy."
We should all know sooner than later.
We asked his dad, Laron, for comment to see if he'd confirm the date.
"You know Josh," he responded.
In other words ... possibly, but you never know. Christopher is enjoying the process, as he should given world events and the fact that he's only going to do this once. But his dad did offer, "stay tuned," which seems to be a pretty good indication that this one is finally coming to an end.
Nothing has changed on our end. We expect him to end up at Michigan, and so do sources close to the program ("not if, but when"). Most prognosticators agree, but Arizona State Rivals publisher Hod Rabino is one of the holdouts. We asked him the reason for his Sun Devils optimism.
"It's obviously a story I'm tracking closely, and to date, I haven't heard that he's a lock to Michigan," he said. "One way or another ... it's entirely possible that he's saying different things to different people. I have no problem changing my prediction if the information I receive warrants that."
We asked two national analysts, Rivals.com's Corey Evans and Eric Bossi, for their opinions, both on Christopher as a player and on where they thought he'd end up. Evans was the first nationally to list the Wolverines the leader several months ago, and his opinion hasn't changed.
"Josh is a tough-minded, two-way guard," Evans said. "He is someone you want to watch. More of a scoring weapon growing up, he has evolved into a tremendous defensive weapon along the perimeter. He has great size, the strength and confidence to impact the high rung immediately next year, which I see him doing at Michigan.
"I get the intrigue that is UCLA, the family connections at Arizona State and Missouri, along with the late run USC has made, but Michigan has been the team to beat for months now. Other' have made a late run at it, but Christopher becomes the latest recruiting win for Juwan Howard."
Bossi, meanwhile, doesn't see him as a lock, but he's comfortable enough to choose the Wolverines, as well.
"Christopher is a strong, athletic and skilled shot maker who has proven himself time and time again to be one of the most elite scorers in the class of 2020," he said. "He is a good ball handler who can create his own offense, an explosive finisher at the rim and has all of the tools to be a lockdown defender when he's really engaged in the game.
"Anybody who has followed him also knows that he is a big personality and enjoys social media and interacting with followers. That personality makes him a little bit of a wild card, so there's never anything really certain with him and where he might go. However, at least for the last few months, the best information I can find leads me to believe that Michigan has the best shot at landing him. He's got a great relationship with Juwan Howard and if Michigan misses, it won't be for lack of effort or poor strategy."
We should all know sooner than later.
