One-on-One with Orangeville Prep’s Thon Maker

One-on-One with Orangeville Prep’s Thon Maker

He might be the most sought after recruit of the 2015 class, but Thon Maker still keeps his head in the game.

Maker has been making a lot of news recently. First, it was his announcement to reclassify to graduate for 2015 back in February.

Once the announcement was made, multiple NCAA schools turned up the heat on recruiting both him and his brother Matur, including powerhouses like Indiana (which he visited in early March), Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, and Missouri just to name a few.

To add on to that, Basketball Canada Executive VP Rowan Barrett even made his organization’s interests known to bring in the Maker brothers to the Canadian national team, should they be interested in changing their citizenship from Australian.

But despite all the hype and interest Thon Maker is gaining, you would never assume that much is really on his mind other than getting better on the basketball court.

It’s a smart decision to make, considering the seven-foot centre that is currently playing for the Athlete Institute’s Orangeville Prep Academy team, is gearing up for the two biggest showcases of his career.

Maker will be a part of the Nike World Hoop Summit on April 11 in Portland, Oregon. Then he will hop on a plane right back to Toronto to play in the BioSteel All-Canadian All Star Game, happening April 14 at the Mattamy Athletics Center in Maple Leaf Gardens.

I had a rare chance to sit down and talk with Maker over the phone a few nights ago, and we discussed everything that has recently developed in his young life.

We also discussed dealing with Canadian weather, the chances of him ever playing for Canada, and even the idea of foregoing college and jumping straight to the pros in Europe.

Ryan Greco: Thon how are you doing today sir?

Thon Maker: I’m doing well how are you sir?

RG: Enjoying the spring weather that’s finally rolling into the city!

TM: [Laughs] this has been my first Canadian winter, and it is by far the coldest climate I’ve ever lived in. Believe me; if you can play through this weather and be successful you can play anywhere!

RG: So, talk to me about the early part of your life seeing as you had split half of your childhood between Africa (South Sudan and Uganda) and Australia. Walk me through the experiences you were able to walk away with growing up in those places.

TM: Well, it’s about living, getting an education. That’s the reason I left South Sudan was to get an education.  When I lived in Australia it was a nice place, it wasn’t as cold as here [laughs], it had beautiful beaches and nice people and the tourism is booming, but the both of those places I call home.

RG: Now, I know you were playing soccer growing up, while you were playing that sport, did you ever just mess around with a ball and a hoop in your spare time? Or was it something that your parents or guardian suggested you do after your growth spurt?

TM: As you said, I played soccer first and fell in love with the game and didn’t want to separate myself from that. But a little later [in my childhood] I found basketball and fell in love with that as well. There were a few times I went to the gym by myself and was just shooting around. My form was all messed up and I didn’t know the mechanics or rules of the game.

Afterwards, when I met my guardian, coach Ed Smith, he was the one that told me ‘basketball is the way, not soccer’. You know, other people were telling me that I had grown out of the sport and that I can’t play anymore, things had to change.

RG: Do you believe the footwork you were able to gain from playing a sport like soccer helped contribute to the amazing and abnormal quickness you now display in basketball?

TM: Yes it definitely did, and not just me, soccer has helped a number of athletes from other sports in the past gain some extra agility and quickness during their childhood. It’s not just physically either, soccer also allows you to focus more on a team concept considering there are eleven guys and you need to find ways to make all of the players on the field happy.

With basketball, that’s the connection it makes to me personally and how I was able to bring that mentality to the court. The experience opened up my mind and allowed me to see the game [basketball] at different levels, and eventually do things that others weren’t expecting of me.

RG: When you eventually came to the United States and started playing for a few schools there, during those formative years, who did you look up to in the NBA?

TM: Well, I’m seven feet so I can’t really look up to anyone! [Laughing]

“When I met my guardian Coach Ed Smith, he was the one that told me ‘basketball is the way, not soccer’, you know, other people were (also) telling me that I had grown out of the sport and that I can’t play anymore, things had to change.” – Thon Maker

RG: Point taken! [Laughing]

TM: But in all seriousness, looking at the NBA, its different now, everybody creates their own stuff. So it’s more about now picking up little pieces. For example, I’ve always said this I love the way Carmelo Anthony uses his jab series to set up his shot. It’s like he’s playing chess and the defence is playing checkers. Then theirs KG [Kevin Garnett], you can’t outplay him; he wants to play 110 percent every single time, and he’ll go down as one of the greatest power forwards to play the game.

Then you obviously have Magic, Jordan, Bird. Jordan is a winner, Bird was a cold shooter, Magic was running the point at six-nine. I look at Magic especially because he thought out of the box, I loved the way he attacked the game, he was a professional the way he did it and carried himself.

RG: Being the height that you are at seven feet, and personally based on the games I’ve seen you play, your defensive game seems to be ahead of your offensive game. Despite all the talk about how well you can handle the ball and shoot, do you ever feel that you could be as comfortable in the post offensively as you are on the perimeter?

TM: As the season began [with Orangeville Prep], I was playing more of a perimeter role. But as the season wore on, it became clear I needed to move to the post more often to better help my team. So now I’m playing the five, and I’ve been getting better at it, but this year for me has been more about being the focal point on defence. For me, I always believe if you can’t stop someone then why you playing the game? You know? So I had to make sure I put my team in the best position to win, and this year that was through leading the defence.

Some players can get caught up in the offensive side of the game too often. For example, if you drop 40 on a team but the guy you were guarding dropped 20, you basically had a 20 point night! You might think you were putting in work, but you weren’t, you were just average. That’s just the way I see it.

RG: Why did you want to reclassify to graduate for this year?

TM: Well, it was really a matter of keeping my options open. By doing this, the main reason was that I could stay [at Orangeville Prep] if I wanted to, because I still want to stay. If it doesn’t work out, I don’t have to rush it. There’s no point in rushing if I can stay back and play alongside my brother again, it would be a serious problem if I stayed, but at least I have that option.

RG: And at 17 who was better according to you, you or Matur?

TM: At 17?…. whoo what a question! Uhm, it’s different. I know I was better, but I’d say he is hungrier to get better than I was at his age. I don’t know how someone else would call it looking at me back then, but the way he has taken to the game over the past couple years and learning from both myself, our teammates and Coach Smith. If you get a chance, you’ll see him in his room late at night just on the tablet watching plays, highlights, studying the game, that’s why I would say that he’s hungrier to get better at 17 than I was at 17.

RG: On a scale of one to ten, how intrigued are you at the idea of playing professionally next year somewhere in the world?

TM: I’m just focused on Thon getting better, ever since the season ended my focus has strictly been on the weight room, the gym, and the classroom. Those three things have become my main focus points, knowing that the ultimate decision could always be later.

RG: So no comment?

Some players can get caught up in the offensive side of the game too often. For example, if you drop 40 on a team but the guy you were guarding dropped 20, you basically had a 20 point night! You might think you were putting in work, but you weren’t, you were just average. That’s just the way I see it. – Thon maker

TM: Yeah [laughs]

RG: The Nike Hoop Summit, what would be your idea of a good performance for yourself during that game?

Thon Maker was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in 2016 before moving to Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ontario. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images

TM: A good game for me is just being myself and making sure I play the right way. I would also want to put my team in a good position to win. I don’t want to play out of character and overthink the game, especially if my teammates might start to play out of character and decide to be selfish or something like that.  So it’s on me to continue to play the right way, because that can affect the way you think and play if your teammates are selfish in the moment.

RG: And in the BioSteel game, it’s the first of its kind. It’s interesting that you’ve arrived in Canada at a time of such great crossroads for the game at the amateur level in this country. What does it mean to you to be a part of the first ever all Canadian high school All Star game?

TM: To me it would mean history making, because we would be the pioneers to do this. But it wouldn’t be just for me, considering the idea that my brother [Matur] will be alongside me playing, and also with my teammates from Orangeville Prep and the history we have made doing what we’ve done this season. I can’t really describe the feeling. When you’re the very first to do something, you’re excited, and you want it to hurry up and start so when it’s over you can look back and say ‘wow, look what we were a part of’.

RG: I was talking to Rowan Barrett last week regarding Steve Nash’s retirement, and I asked him about both you and your brother Matur. More or less he said that they had their eyes on you, and that they will always have a jersey stitched and ready for both of you, should you ever want to play for Canada. What are your thoughts on that idea of playing alongside Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and the rest of the budding talent in this country during something like the 2016 Olympics in Rio, or the FIBA’s later on?

 I read a few articles about Rowan [from Basketball Canada] eyeing me and my brother, and to me that’s just a huge honour. That’s a big thing, but I still love Australia, I don’t see myself in those parts down the line yet, and as of right now I’m doing everything I can to play for Australia. – Thon Maker

TM: Well…ha, I can’t really think about those situations right now. I’m just trying to be as normal as possible right now and just get my education and eventually play basketball full-time. I love Australia, don’t get me wrong, and Canada has a great thing coming up, its going to be huge down the line. I read a few articles about Rowan eyeing me and my brother, and to me that’s just a huge honour. That’s a big thing, but I still love Australia, I don’t see myself in those parts down the line yet, and as of right now I’m doing everything I can to play for Australia.

RG: Well whoever ends up with you in the future, they will be lucky to have you, thank you for taking the time.

TM: Thank you.

Be sure to check out the full interview below.

The Nike Hoop Summit will be on April 11, in Portland, Oregon, at 12 p.m. EST.

The BioSteel All-Canadian High School Game will be on April 14, in Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Center at 7 p.m. EST, and will be televised at 10 p.m. EST, check your local listings!

Next: Thon Maker, Jamal Murray Recruiting Update