Arizona State’s apparent loss is going to be some NBA team’s gain come the June 23 NBA Draft.
On Sunday evening, 7-foot Sudanese big man (by way of Australia) Thon Maker announced his intentions to declare for the NBA Draft, assuming the league rules him draft-eligible. Maker is 19 and reportedly graduated from high school last June. Draft-eligible players need to be 19 and one year removed from high school graduation. Maker is spending a post-graduate year at Athlete Institute.
Maker made this announcement despite the fact that his guardian, Ed Smith, had repeatedly told SNY.tv and other media outlets over the past several years that Maker planned to go to college.
On Monday, Maker spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, and shed some light on where his recruitment may have gone had he decided to stick with the college route.
“I was excited to visit Kansas, St John’s and Indiana,” Maker told Givony. “Those three coaches all showed me different approaches to winning and developing. I was really looking forward to my visit to Arizona State and Notre Dame. My guy Brian Merritt is at ASU and I was leaning that way. I loved Coach (Bobby) Hurley’s fire. When he got that tech early in the season, I was like ‘I want to play for this guy.’ (The Arizona Republic reported on Monday that Merritt was fired.)
Givony tweeted on Sunday he will not add Maker to his 2016 mock draft until the NBA rules him draft-eligible. Givony has Maker at No. 44 on his list of top 100 prospects, regardless of class.
Should Maker gain eligibility, it stands to reason he would be selected in the first round.
“I do see someone selecting him in the first round for sure,” one NBA executive told SNY.tv. “Let’s hope he goes to college and is not eligible for the NBA Draft.”
“When I had the chance to enter the Draft, I started thinking about college vs. pro,” Maker said. “The NBA game, talent, spacing, rotations, terminology, clock and practice time is so much more different than college. I watch a lot of ball, both games and practices. I felt that if I could do this full-time, it would be great. If I went to college I could not see myself not taking my academics seriously. I would want to take serious classes and do well in them. I would have to split time in my focus. My approach is to always go all out and try to be the best if I’m going to do something.”
Maker withdrew from Saturday afternoon’s Nike Hoop Summit, which will pit USA vs. the World. This, despite 145 NBA personnel scheduled to be present at the Moda Center in Portland.
Maker told Givony he will begin working out with the hopes of being invited to the NBA Draft Combine from May 11-15 in Chicago. He has yet to hire an agent.
ZagsBlogArizona State’s apparent loss is going to be some NBA team’s gain come the June 23 NBA Draft.
