Thon Maker Stays in Class of 2016; Will Play CBB

[Smashcat]

Andrew Slater‏@ASlater247 15s15 seconds ago
7'1" Thon Make just said that he will remain in the 2016 class & graduate next June. He plans on playing college basketball.

Kyle Tucker‏@KyleTucker_CJ 2m2 minutes ago
Asked if UK still a player for Maker. "I think they're talking to my coach." Sorta lukewarm.

Kyle Tucker‏@KyleTucker_CJ 1m1 minute ago
Thon Maker sounds very high on Arizona State. Not interested in giving his list of top contenders.

 

[bookerfan66]

I still doubt he ever plays college ball and ends up overseas.

 

[Orange Soda King]

Not a bad choice for the young man. I don't know the details of his situation, but I hope the best for him. He's quite skilled, and looks like a freak specimen, but he was probably given too much spotlight/hype too soon. He still has the tools to end up an amazing player, but staying in his original class is probably not a bad idea, due to how thin he is. Best of luck to him for his senior season! I hope UK recruits him for the class of 2016, especially if Marcus Lee blows up and goes to the NBA after his junior year (I think Lee will be a senior here, but I also thought Booker would be a sophomore here... You never know. Never hurts to recruit!)

 

[jrpross]

With the lack of bigs in '16, I wonder if Cal may pick up the pace a bit. Im not huge on Maker but there's just so few options.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Ayton should be our top big target.

He's 2017 now, but he'll be 17 in July, so he has got to consider reclassifying since he'll be eligible for the 2017 draft (turns 19 in 2017).

From what I have read Ayton pushes Giles to number 2 if he reclassifies.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

My guess:

Maker found everyone to be lukewarm at the thought of him joining a team in December. Even teams as desperate as IU probably werent fond of the idea.

If Maker plays college, it almost has to be ASU. They hired his trainer. And are in need of a splash, so theyd likely cater to Maker and camp's every need. IU would do the same, but I still think theyre a dark horse.

As before, I just dont see any legit programs willing to deal with Makers handlers/camp.

 

[mj2k10]

My guess:

Maker found everyone to be lukewarm at the thought of him joining a team in December. Even teams as desperate as IU probably werent fond of the idea.

If Maker plays college, it almost has to be ASU. They hired his trainer. And are in need of a splash, so theyd likely cater to Maker and camp's every need. IU would do the same, but I still think theyre a dark horse.

As before, I just dont see any legit programs willing to deal with Makers handlers/camp.

My guess is that playing college for only the 2nd semester potentially screwed up his draft eligibility. The rule right now is 19 and one year removed from your HS graduating class, for US HS players and guys who play college basketball. If Maker were to start playing college ball in late December or January because he graduated late, the NBA could rule him ineligible for the 2016 draft because he wouldn't be 1 year removed from his HS graduating class in June of 2016. If he stays in HS another year, he can argue that he's an international prospect, not an American one, and then his HS graduating class doesn't matter. All that matters is that he's 19 in 2016, which he will be. So really, this could mean he never plays college basketball, and tries to go into next year's draft.

 

[preacher_tom]

Thon Maker

Thon Maker

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Five-star recruit Thon Maker announced Thursday night that he will no longer attempt to play college basketball next season.

Instead, Maker said he plans to play one more full season of high school basketball and graduate next June. He also said he would take some college recruiting visits in November.

The 7-footer from Sudan played this past season for Orangeville Prep in Canada. Before that, he was a standout player for The Carlisle School in Virginia. Maker said earlier this year that he would reclassify to 2015 and play college basketball this upcoming season.

His guardian, Ed Smith, later told reporters that Maker had more academic work to complete and enrolling in college in December and playing the last half of the 2015-16 season would be a more realistic outcome. That won’t happen either.

“I tried to get in the 2015 class. It just didn’t work out, so I’m going to stay,” Maker said from the NBPA Top 100 Camp. “I’ll make it official here that I’ll stay (in 2016) and just play it out. Take my visits in November and play another year with my brother.”

Maker’s younger brother, Matur, is a standout player in the class of 2017 and one of his teammates at Orangeville Prep.

When he was asked if he’ll ever play college basketball, Maker was absolute.

“Of course,” he said.

UK, Indiana and Arizona State were widely considered the favorites in Maker’s recruitment, though he pointed out Thursday night that he has never actually released a list of schools.

“I don’t have a list, but you can kind of tell some of the frontrunners,” he said.

Maker didn’t specify those frontrunners, but he did visit Indiana in March and spoke highly of the new coaching staff at Arizona State. He was considered a top-10 recruit in the class of 2015.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Could be smart decision, if he actually grows as a player. He's just way too raw, and is mostly a hype creation at this point. But if his skills catch his potential, he'll be a hell of a get.

 

[Bluemamba]

We'll at least we know his status........hope next year he picks UK.

 

[dmaso44]

I defended you yesterday preacher tom about posting as much as you wanted. However, there is no reason to make a duplicate post. It isn't that hard to scan the first dozen or so topics. Smashcat posted this topic last night and it has been close to the top since so it was easy to see if you had looked. Multiple threads on the same topic does clutter up the board.

 

[dmaso44]

Interesting

 

[preacher_tom]

Yeah I tried to delete but it would not allow me to do so.. I missed th first one sorry.

 

[GonzoCat90]

"Call me when you're ready to be recruited."

 

[twocoach]

still say Arizona State and Indiana are his leaders with State being out in front, at least by reports and common sense (being as how Hurley hired his personal trainer from the time he arrived in the US as an assistant coach).

Staying in 2016 versus moving to 2015 totally changes his recruitment. Kentucky and Kansas both basically wrote him off as a member of the 2015 class but will probably both get back after him now that he has stuck around in a 2016 class that doesn't have very many good big men in it.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Good decision by Maker, watched him a few times in person and he is not ready for college ball. Needs to get much stronger and gain like 40 lbs lol that will be very difficult to do for him. His legs were so frail that I thought they were gonna snap when he landed after a dunk. Sometimes he would crash to the floor cause his legs didn't have the strength to support himself after a quick dunk. Many times he would squat while landing, you guys who have played knows this is a sign of having weak leg muscles. His durability in college would be hindered and I wouldn't want him to get injured because some bruiser down low is beating on him.
I have to admit that he is a warrior and will mix it up for a bit but he goes down for the count way too often lol

He really needs to work on his inside game for the next year for it to catch up to his peremiter skills. He loves to drift around the arch a lot.