Kentucky Wildcats basketball recruit Thon Maker planning on 18 month college stay

Somehow, this slid under my radar over this holiday weekend, but it is worth mentioning again and discussing. 2015 recruit Thon Maker is the only big name remaining in the 2015 class and he has not been discussed that much because of the fact that he will not be eligible until after the Fall semester is over. The common consensus is that he would be a “half a year player” and enter the 2016 NBA Draft. However, that may not be the case because Thon Maker is apparently planning on staying in school and entering the 2017 NBA Draft.

Keep in mind that Maker is a teammate of Jamal Murray and you can see the double jackpot that could strike Lexington soon.

"Kentucky is also in touch with Ed Smith, who said he hasn’t heard from Kansas “for a while.”As of now, the plan is for Maker to complete his schoolwork in the fall and then head to college at the semester break between the 2015-16 season. He is currently projected as the No. 28 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, but Smith said Maker could possibly wait until 2017 for the NBA.“I don’t want to put a one-and-done on it. You finish high school, step one,” Smith said. “When you’re ready and your body is ready for the pro game, step two.”He added: “There is no one-and-a-half year plan in place. It is when he is ready. If it takes 3 1/2 years then so be it. The feel is that if he went mid-year he would be more effective in Year 2 because he would have had the summer and the fall to get better.”Indiana hosted Maker and Thomas Bryant for a game this season, and has already landed Bryant for next season.“I deal mostly with [assistant coach] Chuck [Martin of Indiana] and Chuck says mid-year or next year [fall 2016] is all good and they have a plan in place for for [Maker],” Smith told SNY.tv at the Under Armour stop here. “So that’s his basic plan with that. If he came in mid-year, they would ease him into it, knowing that he has a year-and-a-half plan."

Granted, its way too early to get excited about Thon Maker. And this is far from the first time that we have been told that a recruit will stay more than one year in college. Until it happens, I fully expect Thon Maker to leave whatever school he goes to in April and enter the NBA Draft.

Also, it appears that Indiana and Arizona State are in the lead for Thon Maker. If Jamal Murray becomes a Wildcat soon, all of this can change. As I said earlier, it’s too early to get excited, but if Murray commits, I like John Calipari’s chances and would welcome Thon Maker.

Even for

6 months

18 months.

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