BERKELEY – Joshua Ola-Joseph has signed to play for the California men's basketball team, head coach Mark Madsen announced Wednesday. Ola-Joseph, who spent the past two years at Minnesota, will join the Golden Bears for the upcoming 2024-25 season and has two years of eligibility remaining.
 
Ola-Joseph, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, started 43 of 59 games played and averaged 7.5 points on 57.3% (180-of-314) shooting from the floor along with 2.5 rebounds per game in his two seasons with the Golden Gophers.
 
"Joshua is a tremendous basketball player with a proven track record of shooting at a highly efficient rate," Madsen said. "He's an elite athlete who stretches the floor and plays above the rim, and his length and versatility will make him a disruptor on defense. Our staff loves the energy Joshua plays the game with and we're thrilled to have him and his family as Golden Bears."
 
During his sophomore season at Minnesota, Ola-Joseph shot 60.9% (84-of-138) from the floor on the way to averaging 7.5 PPG in 15.8 minutes per game. The forward also shot 40.6% from beyond the arc in limited attempts, making 13 of 32. He amassed 217 total points and scored in double figures 13 times, including nine consecutive games between Dec. 6, 2023 and Jan. 15, 2024. That nine-game stretch included a season-high 17 points with a career-high three 3-pointers in a win against Florida Gulf Coast and 15-point efforts against Big Ten foes Nebraska and Iowa. He pulled down a season-best five rebounds four times, all in Big Ten play.
 
Ola-Joseph played in all 31 games and made 24 starts as a freshman in 2022-23, ranking fifth on Minnesota's roster with 7.6 PPG. His 54.5% field-goal clip was second best among Golden Gophers, and he scored in double figures 11 times, including a season-high 17 points and eight rebounds against Rutgers.
 
He played his prep basketball career at Osseo High School (Osseo, Minnesota) – where he averaged 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks as a junior – and AZ Compass Prep School (Chandler, Arizona), where he graduated from in 2022.
 
Ola-Joseph was named to the 2024 Academic All-Big Ten Team this spring.
 
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