Thon Maker, the 7-foot prospect from The Carlisle (Va.) School ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2016, is targeting January for a decision on whether or not to reclass to 2015.
“I think our decision will come during the second semester of his junior year,” his guardian Ed Smith told SNY.tv. “We will have a solid foothold on the situation by then.”
He added: “Around January.”
Maker told Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com during the recent Adidas Eurocamp in Italy that he’s “50-50” on reclassifying to 2015, which would then make him eligible for the 2016 NBA Draft.
As we previously reported, Smith is preparing the big man academically to reclass into 2015.
Maker also just picked up an offer from Missouri to go along withoffers from Duke, Louisville, Kansas and Memphis, among others.
As for the Italy experience, Smith said it was beneficial for Maker.
“It was a great learning experience for the kids,” Smith said. “They played against men who were 3 to 7 years older. It was commendable that they played without fear. Thon played very well on the offensive end. He recognized mismatches, got to areas where he could be effective, and use offensive series and counters to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
“Defensively, he was very good on the ball and exhibited great lateral speed for a player at 7 feet. His areas of improvement are functional and core strength related and team defensive concepts related. Both of these areas we will address in the upcoming high school season as I seek to improve his high school coaching experience.”
Photo: Toronto Sun
