University of California sophomore guard Patrick Christopher shows some of the shoes in his collection.

Berkeley, Calif. ? One look at Patrick Christopher’s room, the piles of shoe boxes reaching the ceiling, raises the thought that maybe things have gone too far.

“He has a shoe fetish,” his mother, Patricia, says.

The California guard knows which are which simply by the description on the box, and can easily pull out the ones he wants to wear – carefully coordinating with his clothing. Like the medium mint/lemon frost, the multicolored, pastel patent pair known as “Easter Egg ’07.”

“The sneaker business is beautiful. It’s big time,” Christopher says with his ever-present smile. “Oh, I know there are so many people who this is their life. I play basketball, too.”

Christopher has some 50 different pairs of Nike Air Force 1s and another couple dozen Air Jordans that he plays in, having spent thousands of dollars on a love of athletic footwear that developed when he was just 5. He donated a large number of those along the way to needy children at his church as his foot rapidly grew.

He was already a size 6 in third grade and a 71â2 the next year. By sixth grade, he wore 9. His collection now features sizes 13 and 14.

“He got his first pair of Jordans for his fifth birthday,” his mom recalls. “He started playing ball around the same time in a recreational league. We were probably buying shoes for him – wow – almost every six to eight months. Patrick is so particular about his shoes. He kept them very well, so after he grew out of them we’d give them to the kids at the church.”

Now, many youth in Northern California would be thrilled to own a pair of Christopher’s fancy kicks.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore has emerged as one of Golden Bears’ most steady players this season – and his confidence is about as high as all those boxes piled up in his room.

On Saturday, he might even lace up a new pair of Jordans for the special occasion: Cal’s rivalry game against No. 20 Stanford at home. Christopher heads into the contest as the Bears’ second-leading scorer at 16.5 points per game and their top defender typically responsible for guarding the opponents’ best player.

He lives for such challenges, and knew coming into his second year of college he could produce consistently. He started 14 of 33 games last season, averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds.

“It’s all confidence,” Christopher says. “I knew I was capable of doing what I’m doing. I’m also playing a lot of minutes. This is everything I always dreamed of. I had to wait my turn. That’s the rules of the game. It happens at every level.”

As precise as he is on the court, it carries over into his everyday attire. Take the black and gold patterned bow tie he sported for his media guide mug shot that his teammates love so much, or the patchwork plaid tie and matching belt he wore for his portrait.

“Everybody in every media guide, they all have long ties,” he says. “I wanted to spice it up. … When I have on my suit, it’s probably my dress shoes, but otherwise it’s a pair of Air Force 1s.”

How about the purple and teal striped pair of sneakers he wore with a matching striped short-sleeve hoodie for a dance during his senior year in high school? On his floor is a patent leather stars and stripes pair from Fourth of July ’06 and an understated but expensive waterproof pair close by. Two plain white shoes rest atop his headboard. There’s also the popular see-through clear pair, which “went on demand and sold out real fast.”

“He has a lot of stuff,” teammate Theo Robertson says. “He wears a lot of loud outfits.”