LSAClassOf2000

February 11th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^

Here's a video from ESPN. I could live with this kid on my team, from this sampling of highlights anyway...

EDIT: In response to GoWings2008 below, I have posted other highlights. Still impressive.

LordGrantham

February 11th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^

He's good, but Deadspin's comparison to Kevin Durant was a little ridiculous.  This kid is 7'1 and somehow shooting only 40% from the field. 

93Grad

February 11th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^

and worth an offer on its own.  Its like a combo of Thor and Tron.  Or an ode to former baseball player Dickie Thon.  Either way it is pure awesome.

GoWings2008

February 11th, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^

that was directed at me.  In the past, its not good to talk about someone's age, or how young they look, etc.  Mainly its for recruits, but through the transitive property I was comparing you to the subject of the original post, thus the tempting of the banhammer. 

He made a good point...lesson learned on my part.

samdrussBLUE

February 11th, 2014 at 1:41 PM ^

Only 3rd best in country for that class (Rivals). My buddy has to coach Detroit Consortium tonight (top player in country for that class). These kids are incredible these days at such a young age.

Trebor

February 11th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^

According to 247, he's 7'0" but 194 pounds. Kid has a lot of bulking up to do if he wants to be anything like Durant.

Also, from what I saw in those highlight videos, HS and AAU defenses are a joke.

bluebrains98

February 11th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^

Name anoher 7-footer who can shoot 3's.

Yep, KG and Nowitzki. That's pretty much it. Obviously a 15 year old kid who is 7 feet tall needs to bulk up, but this is quite a frame and skillset to build upon. The only hesitation with recruiting a kid like this is the investment it would require for one year on your team. Not so sure it's worth it.

Trebor

February 11th, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^

You do realize this is a highlight tape, and not a "here are all of his plays from Tournament X," right? In the Nike EYBL, he was a whopping 3/17 from 3 (granted, he was playing up 2 grades, but at his height this shouldn't affect his 3 point shooting that drastically). At the NBA level, No center with 10+ 3-point attempts on the season is worse than 26% from that range, and only 3 of those 11 are under 30%.

Yes, he has incredible potential, but let's not act like he's "Kevin Durant crossed with Chris Paul" like some sports media folks are trying to say.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/10/thon-maker-high-s…

panthera leo fututio

February 11th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

"Kid has a lot of bulking up to do if he wants to be anything like Durant."

If there's one thing KD taught us, it's that we shouldn't write off scrawny dudes who are monsters on the court. Keep in mind that KD was 215 lbs at age 19 -- meaning that young Thon needs exactly one Caris LeVert offseason to be his equal in bulk at the draft.

With respect to Durant size comparisons, though, I think it's interesting to note that KD actually has the longer wingspan (7'4.5" vs 7'2" for Maker). Puts in perspective what a freakish toolset Durant has...

MJ14

February 11th, 2014 at 6:17 PM ^

Durant came into Texas listed at 215 and probably wasn't even that. That means this guy only needs to add 15 pounds to get to Durants playing weight at Texas. Remember, Durant couldn't even bench press 185 pounds coming into the NBA. This guy is only a sophomore in high school, so he has time to bulk up. 

ken725

February 11th, 2014 at 1:50 PM ^

I wonder if he will skip college like Dante Exum. According to this article:

 

Maker was born in South Sudan in 1997, but moved to Australia with his family at the age of seven to seek a better education. It was in Australia, where he met his coach and current guardian, Edward Smith, at a sports program for Sudanese youth. Thon was originally a soccer player, but he experienced a massive growth spurt, and Smith received a call from Maker’s soccer coach.

JHendo

February 11th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^

Big man 101: Even if you are destined to play the 4/5, at an early age you should learn how to dribble, drive and shoot.  Even if you'll never really heavily use those skills on a very competitive level, they can only help improve every other aspect of your game.  

On the other hand, there was really only one clip in those reels that I saw where he was manned up in the post...and he shot a fade away.  Maybe it didn't make for very good highlights, but I'm curious what actual post game he has, because let's be honest, aside from some notable exceptions, 7 foot tall men playing primarily from the perimeter doesn't always work out as good as these clips make it seem: he can't realistically get his dribble down low enough to stop a good defender with quick hands from picking his pocket, a 7 footer flying to the rim has offensive foul written all over it when he finally meets the competition that has the balls to stand their ground correctly, and lastly, he's not going to be quick enough to guard a 1-3 in big time college ball, and if he doesn't work on his post game, who's to say he'll be strong enough to guard a 4/5.

Regardless, he's clearly got some good coaches behind him, so I'm curious to see what will ever become of him.

West German Judge

February 11th, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^

Even if this guy doesn't turn into Kevin Garnett or Kevin Durant, he's still a virtual lock for the lottery with his skillset and frame.  If his worst-case scenario is an Anthony Randolph or a Darius Miles, he'll find a place in the league.

I'm going to follow that kid's recruitment even if we never extend an offer or get returned interest.

SECcashnassadvantage

February 11th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^

He is 7 ft tall playing 6 ft tall kids. I could crush an entire 7th grade team. If you lower the rim 1ft (making it equal in height as he is) I will look like Shaq. He looks slow against high schoolers. I wish him the best! Practice kid, you can do it!