Thon Maker, the 7-foot prospect from The Carlisle (Va.) School ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2016, says he’s “50-50” on reclassifying to 2015, which would then make him eligible for the 2016 NBA Draft.
“The reclassifying, I don’t know yet but it’s a possibility,” Maker told Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com in this video from the Adidas Eurocamp in Italy where Maker went for 22 points and six rebounds in his first game with Team USA.
Asked if he was leaning toward reclassifying, Maker said, “Fifty-fifty right now.”
As we previously reported, Maker’s guardian, Ed Smith, is preparing the big man academically to reclass into 2015.
Maker holds offers from Duke, Louisville, Kansas and Memphis, among others, with interest from Kentucky.
Also as we previously reported, Maker is considering playing for the Australian National Team in the future.
“But also playing for Australia, it’s a possibility and I’m very strong leaning that way also,” he told Kyler.
As reported by SNY.tv in March, Maker and Smith met with Andrej Lemanis, the Australian National Team coach, about him potentially playing with the Boomers going forward.
It’s possible Maker — an Australian citizen born in South Sudan in 1997 — could be in the mix for the Boomers in the 2015 U19 World Championship in Greece as well as the 2016 Rio or 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Yes, they’re coming real strong right now,” Maker told Kyler. “They got a lot of young guys in America. Some of the guys entering the draft, like Dante [Exum] and Ben [Simmons] entering college so they coming real strong.”
Thon also spoke highly of his 6-10 younger brother Matur Maker, currently in the Class of 2017 at The Carlisle School.
“He’s come a long way,” Thon told Kyler. “He hasn’t had enough time to work with my guardian coach Edward Smith like I have so he’s learning a lot in a very short time…but then again he’s a quick learner, very fast learner.”
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