Sneaker Talk: Cal Bears’ Patrick Christopher

words & interview_Nick DePaula

For most college basketball players, a team bank issued sneaker will do just fine for the season. Not for Patrick Christopher. The University of Cal Berkeley Senior swingman and his sneakers have gotten quite a lot of attention during his four-year career for the Bears, as he’s been featured in the pages of Sole Collector, in an Associated Press news story and even on a YouTube video. He’s broken out everything from original Obsidian XIIs, Black/ White XIIIs, White/ Navy XVIs, Obsidian XVs and countless other classic Jordans during his first two seasons, to now wearing the latest Zoom Kobe quickstrike colorways to close out his college years.

On Saturday, Christopher and teammate Jerome Randle led the Bears to a convincing win over the Arizona State Sun Devils at home in what would be their very last game at Haas Pavilion. With the win, they also happened to clinch the Pac10 Conference Championship, a first for Cal in fifty years, right down to the exact day.

Being that it was Senior Night, Patrick figured he’d break out some heat, as he rocked the Livestrong Zoom Kobe IVs, a first on a pro or college court. Over the weekend, I caught up with PC to see what winning the conference title was already feeling like, how he liked playing in the Air Jordan 2010s recently, and of course, what everyone was saying about his bright yellow shoes.

For people that don’t know you, of course one of the main reasons you went to Cal was because it was a Jordan school, and you’ve always been really into sneakers. How many pairs are you up to now?
Honestly, I don’t count my shoes. [laughs] That’s something that I’ve never really done, because I feel like it’s always quality over quantity. I’ve always said that a dude can go to Foot Locker and buy 100 pairs of white on white Forces, and say he has 100 pairs of shoes, but that doesn’t mean he has any heat. [laughs] I just never got into counting my shoes.

I know when we talked for the story [in Issue 23 of Sole Collector] two years ago, you were saying it was around 70 or something.
It’s probably double that now.

Any favorite ones?
Right now my favorites are my Air Max 95s. They’re Retros from a few years ago, but the Neon joints. Now I gotta get that jacket that just came out, that mug is mean! [laughs] I love the Foamposites too, the original blue ones.

Yeah they’re bringing those out again this fall.
Oh man! I’m a little mad though; shoes aren’t as exclusive as they used to be. It bothers me that the VIs are out everywhere. I was at Champs Sports dude, and I just saw a bunch of VIs on the wall. I’m like, “Dude, what’s going on?” You can just see anybody walking down the street in those nowadays, and maybe I guess you wouldn’t call that heat anymore.

It kinda goes both ways I guess. It’s kinda cool to just walk into a store and buy something like that too.
Everything I try to do, I try to do exclusive. [laughs] I don’t want to walk down the street and, “Dang! I got on the same kicks as the average Joe.” [laughs] That never happens for me.

On Thursday, you guys wore the Silver Anniversary jerseys against Arizona on ESPN. When was the first time they showed you those?
Honestly, that day. It was supposed to be a surprise. We saw ‘em in person that day, but the night before, their blog had the jerseys for all three teams up and the shoes.

What’d you guys think of the Silver 2010s when you got them?
Oh man, those are mean! They’re not coming out though, and that’s the problem. [laughs] I’m heated. [laughs]

Why?
Cause I wore ‘em!! [laughs] I was trying my best not to wear them. My coach made me switch my shoes back on. I had on Kobes at first, and I’m telling you, it really threw me off my game, even though I came out hittin’. [laughs] Psychologically, I was a little messed up about wearing that shoe, because I wanted to keep them new. We got the win though, and that’s the most important thing. They’re destroyed though. They’re thrashed. I can’t walk around in them now because the silver toe got scuffed up a bit.

Once you got going in the game, how’d they feel?
Very comfy! Even though I wanted to keep them new and I was kinda sad, it definitely didn’t affect my performance. The cushioning on them is good, they’re light and the support is great.

What’d you think of the clear circle?
Some guys I don’t think liked it, because with the Nike Elite socks that we have, they have orange in them, so that was the only bummer about that. I wear plain socks though, so it was cool for me. We were in the locker room looking at them with black socks, the Elite socks and white socks. [laughs]

And when Senior Night rolls around on Saturday, what were you thinking about during intros and warmups being that it was your last home game at Haas Pavilion?
It was amazing. Honestly, I was so focused on the game, that I don’t even think my emotions could’ve gotten the best of me, personally. With the game of basketball, whether it be my last middle school game, my last high school game, or whatever — it may be the last game of my freshman year or a loss in the playoffs — I’ve always had the mentality that I’ll play a game again. I won’t play in that arena at Haas Pavilion anymore, but I’ll get the chance to play the game of basketball again, so I can’t really get sad about not playing somewhere anymore. I know that we have great memories in that arena, but I’ve gotta keep it going.

You break out the Livestrongs on Saturday of course, and when was the first time you saw those? You know, I think, if I recall, that you had asked me about them. [laughs]
Definitely asked you about them! [laughs] I stay on the blog sites, and as soon as I saw em, I was like, “Yo!!” I’m already a Kobe IV fan, and I’m trying to get every Kobe IV and V under the sun. But when I saw those, and they were Cal colors? I had to have those. I knew that I wanted to play in those though. I didn’t want to just walk around in them. I wanted to play in those because I like to keep my Kobes on the court.

Once you had them on, what were the coaches and your teammates saying?
Initially I had ‘em on for Thursday’s game. And, you know, the shoe is loud. [laughs] It’s all yellow and it’s patent leather. It draws attention, and since we were wearing the silver jerseys, during warmups all of the kids in the student section were yelling, “PC we love your shoes!” and things like that. But, once we got back to the locker room for our pre-game meeting, I walked past Coach, and he was like, “Patrick, where’s your silver shoes?” I’m like, “In my locker.” He said, “Well, go put them on.” Of course, I asked if I had to, and he said since everyone else was wearing them that I did. [laughs] Boy, oh boy, then I messed up my 2010s! Once I wore the Livestrongs on Saturday, they probably looked better with the white unis anyways, because they have just a little bit of yellow trimming.

When I was watching the game, you were shooting a free throw, and Jerome [Randle] and [Derek] Glasser were standing behind you, and you could see Glasser pointing to your shoes and asking ‘Rome about them.
Yeah, and those are some attention grabbers, and that’s what us sneaker heads live for! [laughs] If you do it on the streets, it feels good, and if you do it in a game it feels even better.

You’ve been playing in the Kobe IV and V the last two seasons now. What do you like about them?
I think it helps that the greatest player of our era now is playing in them. Obviously, if they were somebody else’s shoe it might be different, but Kobe wearing them validates them being the truth. They’re light, the cushioning is great and I think the traction is good. It’s not like any other shoe that I’ve played in. I remember seeing Sole Collector and I wanted to be in the magazine for having the best heat in college basketball, and this shoe is at the top for me.

Do you have a favorite color of the IV and V?
I’ve been wearing the Bruce Lee V, and those are samples. They don’t have the scratches on them. Those got thrashed too. Right now I don’t really have a favorite color though. I’ve been looking online at all the different iD’s that are in the league, and I’m like, “Dang! Everybody is wearing them right now.” I should have done some in December, ‘cause now it’s too late!

On Saturday of course, it was the first Pac10 title in 50 years for Cal. What was that like to be cutting down the nets and everything?
The experience was so much sweeter because, for me personally, I didn’t expect all of that after the game. I didn’t expect confetti, I didn’t expect students to rush the floor and I didn’t expect to cut down the nets after that. All of that was an overwhelming experience for me. It was just a big deal to me, and just that feeling, I can see how winning a national championship probably feels a thousand times better than that. You’re just winning your conference, and I’m not knocking the conference at all, but to be the #1 team in the country, that has to be one of the best feelings that you could feel as a competitor and as an athlete. And then, even more better than that is being a NBA champion and then an Olympian winning Gold. Once you get ahold of this winning stuff, it feels good! [laughs]

With the tournament coming up around the corner, do you have any surprises in store?
Honestly, right now, I don’t even know what I’m going to be in. It’s too bad that I didn’t iD anything. I saw a new away Kobe V edition that’s black, white and yellow and has some speckles, so if I could get my hands on those somehow, that’d be pretty sweet.

The Seniors: Patrick Christopher, Nikola Knezevic, Theo Robertson, Jamal Boykin and Jerome Randle.

For a detailed look at the Livestrong Zoom Kobe IV, check here: http://solecollector.com/live/all/livestrong-nike-zoom-kobe-iv/

Tags: cal, Cal Bears, kobe iv, livestrong kobe iv, patrick christopher

12 Responses to “Sneaker Talk: Cal Bears’ Patrick Christopher”

1. Nene33 says:

   March 1, 2010 at 11:06 am

   Great interview, he sounds like a very funny guy.

   Reply
2. Hawk says:

   March 1, 2010 at 10:20 pm

   I like his shoe philosophy. I hope he can play for the Bobcats one day.

   Reply
3. London says:

   March 1, 2010 at 10:29 pm

   Great interview, I don’t follow the Pac-10 too much so I didn’t know the different kicks he brought out.
   It’s good to see someone play in some classic’s though, that’s what I like to see!

   Reply
4. kg says:

   March 1, 2010 at 11:18 pm

   - i think i could marry this guy and forget kids we can collect shoes until we get old and gray lmao

   Reply
5. Darren510 says:

   March 1, 2010 at 9:23 pm

   Good interview. Really diggin the livestrong kobes!

   Reply
6. sneaksoy says:

   March 1, 2010 at 9:25 pm

   Great interview, everytime I see Cal play I always look out for PC ever since I read his article in SC. Those Livestrong IVs are sick too, perfect senior night shoe!

   Reply
7. Y&G says:

   March 1, 2010 at 10:19 pm

   i like these…
   how exclusive are they though??

   Reply
8. Erik Fearn says:

   March 2, 2010 at 12:01 am

   Well when ya boi get to Cal, ima be stuntin with the blue foams on one foot and the pearl one on the other come senior night. Watch Out!!

   Reply
9. JJ says:

   March 8, 2010 at 4:15 pm

   Does anyone know where i can get the silver 2010′s and the gear that the colleges got?

   Reply
10. JJ says:

    March 8, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Hey nick, anywhere i can get the livestorngs?

    Reply
11. Pac-10 Champs! says:

    March 27, 2010 at 1:40 am

    Patrick probably does have the most heated collection in college basketball…he plays in heat like the Midnight Navy 16′s he has.
    BTW how the f did he get those Livestrong PE’s???

    Reply
12. Seven Duece says:

    March 30, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    Great interview, plus he’s a real baller!

    Reply