A year ago, Cam Christie was preparing for his first season playing college basketball. The buzz out of Dinkytown was the Gophers had one of the most underrated freshmen in the Big Ten.

“It’s been really fun,” Christie said. “But if I was in college thinking about going to the NBA, I don’t think I would’ve had the year that I had at Minnesota. It’s important to stay where your feet are and enjoy where that takes you.”

The 6-5, 190-pound Illinois native is entering his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers hoping to prove again to be ahead of the curve — just like he did with the Gophers.

At 19, Christie’s the youngest player on the Clippers, but he’s played in all four of their preseason games through Tuesday, which included 16 minutes off the bench against the Brooklyn Nets.

In the annual preseason NBA general manager survey, Christie received votes for the rookie who could be the biggest steal at where he was selected in the NBA draft.

The Clippers, who also have veteran guard and ex-Gopher Amir Coffey, showed their excitement in Christie’s potential by signing him to a four-year, $7.9 million contract after selecting him in the second around with the 46th overall pick.

“Super happy for Cam,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “Did I necessarily know he was going after one year? No. Was it a possibility. Yes. And as the year progressed, I started to tell our staff this is realistic.”