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Elite 2016 prospect could reclassify to 2015 and go to college early

Thon Maker

Kelly Kline/adidas

Kelly Kline

Of all of the storylines remaining in the college basketball recruiting scene this season, one of the rumors to really monitor is whether elite 2016 big man Thon Maker will move up to the 2015 class and play college basketball a year early.

According to Ed Smith, Maker’s legal guardian, that is looking like more of a possibility. In an interview with the Courier-Journal’s Steve Jones, Maker’s guardian explains that if Thon is in position to make jump, academically, that he will do so

Maker is currently being recruited by almost all of the top programs in the country. Here is the passage from the Courier-Journal story from Smith:

“We’re pushing, we’re pushing hard and working hard at it,” Smith said.

So if he can finish his early graduation requirements, will he reclassify?

“Yeah, he would,” Smith said.

Maker is doing well in the NCAA’s mandated core courses for freshman eligibility. The challenge, Smith explained, will be in completing all the work necessary to graduate early from Orangeville.

“It’s more the requirements of the school than the core (NCAA requirements),” said Smith, who moved with Maker from the Carlisle School in Virginia to Orangeville this year. “Every school has different requirements. (For example) when we were in Virginia, you had to take a finance course to graduate out of the state of Virginia. But we’re on to the core. We’re locked in the core. He’s good, his GPA across the core is excellent.”


This doesn’t come as a major surprise in recruiting circles, but now that Smith is openly talking about Maker moving to 2015, I could absolutely foresee it happening. He’s too good of a prospect to stay back in high school for another season and he would improve a lot more in a college program with a college strength program.

It will be interesting to see if Maker takes care of business in the classroom because he’ll have plenty of suitors on the basketball court. He’s currently regarded as the No. 1 prospect in the 2016 class, according to Rivals.

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