BIO: Thon Maker was born in Wau, South Sudan but due to the conflict from the civil war, he fled the country along with his uncle, a local administrator, who had arranged for Maker, his younger brother, Matur, and his aunt to escape the civil war to Uganda. From there, they were accepted as refugees by Australia; they then moved to Perth when he was five. When he was 14 years old a local basketball coach, Ed Smith, who had previously helped other Sudanese immigrants Ater Majok and Mathiang Muo to become professional basketball players and offered to move Thon to Sydney and play for the St. George Basketball Association.

In 2011. Maker and Smith moved to the United States and Thon began playing basketball for Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia. In 2013/14 he earned Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year honours and led the school to a state championship. In 2014, Thon moved with his brother moved to the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario where Ed Smith had become a assistant coach. He also played basketball at nearby Orangeville District Secondary School in the nearby town of Orangeville while attending the Institute. Despite being recruited by numerous NCAA schools like Arizona State, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky on April 3rd 2016, Maker nominated for the 2016 NBA draft.

Maker attended the 2016 NBA Draft Combine, where he was measured as the third-tallest player without shoes at 6’11.75″ and recorded the highest no-step vertical jump (32″) of any player over 6’11” in NBA Draft Combine history. Makers draft stock grew exponentially as a result and he was chosen with the 10th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Once in the United States, Maker attended two schools in Louisiana, including Metairie Park Country Day School, before finally settling down at Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia. During his freshman and sophomore years playing for Carlisle’s varsity team, Maker averaged 22.2 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 4.5 blocks over a total of 53 games. As a sophomore, he earned 2013–14 Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year honours after leading Carlisle to a state championship.

On 5 September 2014, Maker and his brother enrolled at the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario where Edward Smith was already an assistant coach. In conjunction with the Athlete Institute, the brothers enrolled at Orangeville District Secondary School in the nearby town of Orangeville. On 29 December 2014, Maker scored 16 points and 9 rebounds in a 79–75 win over Dennis Smith Jr. and Trinity Christian School.[12] On 30 December 2014, Maker scored 24 points and 11 rebounds as his team loss to Harry Giles and Wesleyan Christian Academy in the championship game of the High School OT Holiday Invitational tournament.

On 18 February 2015, Maker announced his decision to reclassify into the 2015 class, which would have made 2014–15 his final year of high school. He later participated in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon. Playing alongside fellow Australian Ben Simmons in the April 11 game, Maker recorded 10 rebounds, two points and one block as the World Team defeated Team USA, 103–101.

On 18 June 2015, Maker announced his decision to remain in the Class of 2016, and returned to Orangeville Prep for the 2015–16 season. Maker noted how stressful it was working toward entering the Class of 2015, with the issue centred on his workload and the pressure with “trying to get it all done at once”. He was being recruited by Arizona State, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, St. John’s and UNLV.

On 3 April 2016, Maker declared his intentions to enter the 2016 NBA draft, a decision that required a ruling from the NBA to determine his eligibility. To skip a year of college, Maker had to convince the NBA he graduated from Orangeville Prep in 2015. He successfully did so, proving he graduated from high school in June 2015 but elected to stay for a postgraduate year, fulfilling both the minimum age and one year removed requirements to the NBA’s satisfaction. With a successful ruling, Maker became just the second player in more than a decade to make the leap from high school in North America straight to the draft and the first to play in the NBA since the league introduced the “one-and-done” rule for high school students in 2005.

FAMILY: Thon’s brother, Matur Maker also played 14 games in the NBL.

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Dan Boyce (832 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.