Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball offer 5-star guard Joshua Christopher

The Juwan Howard recruiting era is officially underway.

And Howard, Michigan’s new head basketball coach, is going after one of the top players in the country.

Bellflower (Calif.) Mayfair guard Joshua Christopher, a five-star prospect in the 2020 class, announced on Twitter late Tuesday night that he received an offer from the Wolverines — which appears to be the first of Howard’s tenure.

“Blessed to receive an offer from coach Howard and Michigan!” Christopher tweeted.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound shooting guard is rated the No. 6 overall recruit in the nation for 2020, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Christopher, who’s also ranked No. 2 nationally at his position, was announced as a training camp participant for the USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team in May.

Christopher comes from a basketball family. His older sister, Paris, played at St. Mary’s and his older brother, Patrick, played at Cal. Caleb, another brother, is a three-star guard who signed with Arizona State’s 2019 class.

Christopher’s offer — which joins a host of others from Kansas and Georgetown to Oregon and Arizona — seems to signal a shift in recruiting philosophy from Howard and his predecessor John Beilein.

Beilein, who landed one five-star recruit (Glenn Robinson III) during his 12 years in Ann Arbor, was known to only offer recruits after their sophomore season, after they visited campus and after he had seen them play in person. Most of all, Beilein would go after prospects who would fit his system.

Howard's recruiting strategy, on the other hand, remains to be seen. During his introductory news conference last week, Howard said he was still mapping out his approach.

“I’m all eyes and all ears to talent,” Howard said at the time. “I haven’t pinpointed exactly (whether) I’m going after five-star, one-and-dones, or if I’m going to recruit three-star kids. As a staff we will meet and figure out what is the best solution moving forward to give us the best chance to win.”

Christopher is the third five-star prospect in the 2020 class to hold a Michigan offer, joining guard Nimari Burnett and big man Walker Kessler.

Four-star guard Zeb Jackson remains the lone commit for Michigan’s 2020 class.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins