Elite High School Prospect Thon Maker Will Remain in the Class of 2016

A lot of people have wondered whether elite 2016 prospect Thon Maker will head to college a little earlier than expected. Maker, the No. 11 recruit in the class according to 24/7 Sports, was reportedly considering graduating in December and enrolling in a school early. However, that’s not going to happen.

Maker confirmed on Friday that he intends on staying in high school, playing on the same team as his younger brother and waiting until 2016. According to his guardian, Indiana and Arizona State have been in contact with Maker the most, but he has also attracted interest from plenty of major programs, like Kansas and Kentucky.

From ESPN:

Elite prospect Thon Maker will now graduate with the Class of 2016 after announcing in the winter he planned on moving up to the 2015 class.

 

“I’m definitely going to stay and play it out,” Maker told reporters at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.

 

Maker, a 7-foot center originally from South Sudan, will return to Orangeville Prep (Canada) for his final season. He also explored the prospect of graduating in December and enrolling at a college for the second semester.

 

A big factor in Maker’s decision to move back to 2016 was the opportunity to play with his brother, Matur, who is a talented 2017 prospect.

 

“I had to ask, ‘What do you want to do?'” Ed Smith, Maker’s guardian, told ESPN.com. “And he said he wants to play with his brother.”

 

Maker has completed all his core classes, according to Smith. He will take his SATs in the fall.

 

“It’s helped him tremendously,” Smith said of the decision. “Going into the Hoop Summit [in April], he was staying up until two, three o’clock in the morning. He wasn’t playing well. Once he knew [moving back to 2016] was a possibility, he got back into a rhythm. He’s feeling good. He’s playing really, really well right now.”