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Makur Maker

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This article is about the Kenyan-born basketball player. For his cousin, see Matur Maker.

Makur Maker
Maker with Orange Lutheran High School in 2018
No. 2 – Al-Ittihad Jeddah
PositionCenter
LeagueSBL
Personal information
Born (2000-11-04) 4 November 2000 (age 24)
Nairobi, Kenya
NationalitySouth Sudanese / Australian
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeHoward (2020–2021)
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Sydney Kings
2022–2023Capital City Go-Go
2023Liaoning Arctic Wolves
2023–2024Raptors 905
2024–presentAl-Ittihad Jeddah
Career highlights and awards

Makur Maker (born 4 November 2000) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for Al-Ittihad Jeddah of the Saudi Basketball League (SBL). A consensus five-star recruit, he committed to play college basketball for Howard University, becoming the highest-ranked player in the modern recruiting era to commit to a historically black college or university (HBCU).

Born in Nairobi, Maker grew up in Perth, Western Australia, before playing high school basketball in North America. He is the cousin of basketball players Thon and Matur Maker.

Early life

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Maker was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to South Sudanese parents and immigrated to Perth, Western Australia, when he was one year old.[1] Before focusing on basketball, he mainly took interest in football as a striker and often played beach soccer with his friends. Maker played for Quinns Football club alongside his older brothers. Maker attended St. Andrews Catholic Primary School and joined Irene McCormack Catholic College for high school. He was drawn to basketball in part because of his exceptional height.[2]

High school career

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In 2015, Maker moved to the United States and enrolled for his freshman year at Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, Los Angeles.[3] As a result, he was forced to live away from his family for many years.[2] As a freshman, Maker averaged 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.[4] In 2016, he transferred to The Tech Academy, a prep school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.[5] He was drawn to the program by his cousins, basketball players Thon and Matur Maker. His cousins also brought him under the guidance of Ed Smith, a coach who had helped direct them through their own basketball careers.[6] Maker joined the basketball team with Matur and played in the National Preparatory Association and The Grind Session.[4] In his next year, The Tech Academy closed, and he was homeschooled. Maker suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for the 2017–18 season.[7]

In the summer of 2018, he transferred to Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California.[8] As a junior, he earned All-Trinity League first team and Orange County Register All-County second team honors.[9][10] Maker faced eligibility questions entering his senior season, because he had already exhausted his eight semesters of eligibility.[11] Instead of seeking a waiver from the California Interscholastic Federation to continue playing for Orange Lutheran, he transferred to Pacific Academy, a prep school in Irvine, California, and continued his career with the affiliated program, Center of International Basketball Academy.[7] On 17 October 2019, it was announced that he had submitted paperwork to explore his eligibility for the 2020 NBA draft.[12] On 25 April 2020, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft. Despite finishing two credits short of high school graduation, Maker was granted eligibility by the NBA.[13] However, on 3 August he withdrew from the draft to play college basketball.[14]

Recruiting

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Maker was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top centers in the 2020 recruiting class, according to major recruiting services.[15] On 3 July 2020, he committed to play college basketball for Howard over offers from UCLA, Kentucky and Memphis. He became the highest-ranked recruit to commit to a historically black college or university (HBCU) in the modern recruiting era. Maker made the decision in part to encourage future prospects to play for HBCU programs.[16]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Makur Maker
C 		Perth, Western Australia Pacific Academy (CA) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jul 3, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 94
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 18  247Sports: 18  ESPN: 16
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Howard 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  • "2020 Howard Bison Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.

College career

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After playing in Howard's first two games, Maker was ruled out indefinitely on 28 November 2020, due to a groin injury suffered in preseason practice.[17]

Professional career

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On 21 August 2021, Maker signed with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL) on a Next Stars contract.[18]

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Maker joined the Chicago Bulls for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[19]

On 10 August 2022, Maker signed with the Washington Wizards, but was later waived on 12 October.[20] On 4 November, Maker was named to the opening night roster for the Capital City Go-Go.[21]

In the summer of 2023, Maker played for the Liaoning Arctic Wolves of the National Basketball League. Maker averaged 28.1 points, 11.2 rebounds in 32.8 minutes.[22]

On 1 October 2023, Maker signed with the Toronto Raptors,[23] but was waived on October 20.[24] Ten days later, he joined Raptors 905.[25]

On 9 September 2024, Maker signed with Al-Ittihad Jeddah of the Saudi Basketball League.[26]

National team career

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In February 2019, Maker stated that he would play for Australia internationally.[27] He made himself available to represent Australia at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup but was not selected in the final squad.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Howard 2 2 24.0 .500 .000 .900 6.0 2.0 .0 1.0 11.5

Personal life

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Maker is a cousin of basketball players Thon Maker and Matur Maker, and footballer Maker Maker.[8][29] Makur is also a cousin of Aliir Aliir who plays for Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League.[30] He has six brothers and one sister. Maker descends from the Dinka people in South Sudan. His guardian is Liberian-born basketball coach Ed Smith, who is the same guardian as his cousins Thon and Matur.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Kwan, Biwa (4 July 2020). "How this Australian basketball prodigy hopes to inspire minorities by turning down America's biggest universities". SBS. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Uluc, Olgun (8 February 2019). "Makur may end up as the next Maker in the NBA, but he's in a league of his own". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  3. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (25 August 2015). "Boys' basketball: 6-11 freshman Makur Maker enrolls at Chaminade". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Thon Maker's Cousin is 6'11 and has Made it to Canada, joining The Tech Academy Titans". North Pole Hoops. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Thon Maker's 6-11 cousin joins Prolific Prep North in Canada". USA Today High School Sports. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  6. ^ Roberts, Ben (18 June 2019). "'A different path': Guardian of top recruit Makur Maker talks about Kentucky and the process". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  7. ^ a b Newman, Logan (29 July 2019). "Why Makur Maker is transferring to Pacific Academy from Orange Lutheran". USA Today high School Sports. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  8. ^ a b Gershon, Josh (4 December 2018). "Makur Maker: Thon's cousin emerges as elite post in SoCal return". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  9. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (11 March 2019). "Christian James of St. John Bosco is Trinity League MVP in basketball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. ^ "The Register's All-County boys basketball teams 2018-19". Orange County Register. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  11. ^ Fryer, Steve (28 June 2019). "Orange Lutheran's Makur Maker ineligible for 2019-20 boys basketball season". Orange County Register. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  12. ^ Givony, Jonathan (17 October 2019). "No. 10 recruit Makur Maker petitions to be eligible for 2020 NBA draft". ESPN. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  13. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (25 April 2020). "Makur Maker entering NBA draft". ESPN. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  14. ^ Gaither, Steven J. (3 August 2020). "Makur Maker opting out of NBA Draft". HBCU Gameday. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  15. ^ Byrum, Tyler (2 July 2020). "Class of 2020 five-star prospect, Makur Maker is considering Howard in his final four". NBC Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. ^ Borzello, Jeff (3 July 2020). "Five-star college basketball recruit Makur Maker commits to Howard over UCLA". ESPN. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Howard Bison shutting down Makur Maker indefinitely with groin injury". ESPN. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Local Talent Makur Maker Joins Sydney as NBL Next Star". NBL.com.au. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Chicago Bulls 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Wizards' Makur Maker: Signs with Wizards". CBSSports.com. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Go-Go Announce 2022-23 Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  22. ^ "效力于辽宁益胜雪狼男篮的Makur Maker在结束了今年夏天NBL征战之旅后成功签约NBA多伦多猛龙队。2023赛季，马库尔-梅克场均出场32.8分钟，场均28.1分，11.2个篮板，为雪狼队跻身季后赛做出巨大贡献！祝愿他前程似锦，帮助新球队取得更好成绩！". 微博. 辽宁益胜雪狼篮球俱乐部. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  23. ^ Toronto Raptors [@Raptors] (1 October 2023). "Welcome to Toronto, @MakurMaker #WeTheNorth" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Amico, Sam (20 October 2023). "Raptors Sign Justise Winslow, Waive Makur Maker". HoopsWire.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  25. ^ "RAPTORS 905 FINALIZES TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  26. ^ Ittihad tabs Makur Maker, Abdul (9 September 2024). "Australian Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings". AustraliaBasket.com. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  27. ^ Uluc, Olgun (9 February 2019). "Makur may end up as the next Maker in the NBA, but he's in a league of his own". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Emus squad named for 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup". Basketball Australia. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  29. ^ Lupo, Nicola (17 October 2020). "Maker Maker, Thon's brother, signs with football team Flat Earth FC". Sportando. sportando.basketball.
  30. ^ Horne, Ben (28 June 2016). "Aliir Aliir and Thon Maker revealed to be cousins as both chase their sporting dreams". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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