Thon Maker 2016 NBA Draft Scouting Video - Strengths
NEW YORK Theres been a lot of Canadian hoops history made at recent NBA drafts, but Thursday brought even more.
Jamal Murray and Thon Maker, former high school teammates at the Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ont., both went in the top-10. For Murray, it all seemed predestined.
For Maker, well, what a story, the type more suited to Hollywood than the NBA.
Murray, who starred as a freshman at Kentucky, averaging 20 points per game, went seventh to the Denver Nuggets, while Maker, born in Sudan, raised in Australia and in Canada for two years, first with Murray, then with his brother Matur, went 10th to the Milwaukee Bucks.
They became the first NBA selections out of Canadian high schools (who didnt finish at American high school or prep schools) since Jamaal Magloire 20 years ago.
Maker famously challenged his way into this draft, doing so despite not playing in college or overseas because he said he had graduated last year, but returned for a fifth year of high school, but was expected to go late in the first or even in the second round before his meteoric rise.
Its an amazing story. Hes an amazing player, and he deserved all of it, Murray said when asked about the saga at the podium.
Im just happy for him. I cant wait to see him go and get started.
Hes a great player, great person, hard work ethic. Hes going to be something special. He wants it, and you can tell. I love playing with guys that have the same fire.
Maker will compete for Australia at international events, but Murray will be a key piece for Canada moving forward.
But his focus is on Denver, and on proving the teams that let him slide wrong.
I always believe Im the best player, and when a team really sees the No. 1 choice, like Denver did, then I just want to play for them more, Murray said.
I want to give them all Ive got, and I just want to learn and be ready to compete.
Murray will team with another big guard in Emmanuel Mudiay with the Nuggets.
Me and Mudiay, we played in the Hoops Summit together for one year. So I kind of got to see what hes like. Hes a great player and hes a great guy. Family person, and well be a good team. Well be working together and playing off each other.
Murray set freshman scoring and three-point records while at Kentucky and head coach John Calipari raved about him all season and ever since, saying he was one of the best players he has ever coached.
Murray, who starred at the Pan Am Games in Toronto last summer, despite being far younger than the competition, does not lack for confidence.
Just going to be an all-around player, the player that you cant leave open, the player youve got to pay attention to on the court at all times, he said of his NBA projection.
Maker is out to prove people wrong as well.
People usually say nowadays that playing hard is the new skill, or having a motor is a new skill. For me it was just always having that work ethic and just continuing to work hard, Maker said.
My skills have always been just work on them, and you never know when youre going to use them in the game. So just work on them, have them in your pocket, and then when required, use them.
Maker was asked about his journey.
It took a long time in a short time period, I can say that, because its five years its goingonsix years now, was how Maker put it.
It was five years when I decided I first wanted to be a pro and take basketball serious. So its been a long time because Ive put in a lot of games, a lot of work, and to finally see it pay off, really I lost words. When I was walking there, trying to say thank you to my family, just took lots of words, and I speak with them every day. It was a different situation. Mentally you just cant wait. Physically youre trying to control yourself, and at the same time its unreal.
The Raptors had hoped Murray or someone else in the consensus Top 8 fell after Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram went 1-2 as expected, but Marquesse Chriss went a pick before Torontos ninth selection, which was used on Austrian centre Jakob Poeltl.
Poeltl said he is excited to back up Jonas Valanciunas and rejoin Utah teammate Delon Wright, the teams third-string point guard.
Backup centre isnt a huge position of need, even though Bismack Biyombos return is unlikely, but the team was impressed by his skill and toughness.
Its amazing, you know? Just knowing you have a friend, like somebody that can help you out already there, him having one year of experience already, its going to help me out a lot and its just a fun thing to think about, Poeltl told Postmedia as he walked to do more interviews.
It was definitely a possibility, but like I said, Im super stoked that I ended up here.
The Raptors later picked Pascal Siakam with the 27th pick, a Cameroonian big man who has drawn comparisons to Biyombo.
It was a wild and unpredictable night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
A fan outside sported a green leprechaun outfit, complete with hat, and a sign that read: Thanks for the gifts, Billy King. That, of course, is a reference to the disastrous trade the former Nets general manager made years ago to land Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce that handed the Celtics a boatload of juicy picks, including No. 3 overall in 2016.
The deal bombed and to make it worse, the Nets organization had to watch Boston come away with a coveted pick in its own arena.
Arvydas Sabonis, the legendary, 7-foot-3 Lithuanian centre killed time by ordering snacks an hour beforehand. His son, Domantas, was picked 11th by Orlando, but the Magic stunningly surrendered Sabonis, former No. 2 overall selection Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka, in a heist for the Thunder.
Toronto had tried to make a move for Ibaka using the ninth pick and more, but couldnt match Orlandos huge offer.
rwolstat@postmedia.com
Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/canadian-ex-high-school-teammates-jamal-murray-thon-maker-taken-in-top-10-of-nba-draft
