Elite high school prospect Thon Maker plans to reclassify into the 2015 class, he announced via Twitter on Wednesday.
I'm on track to graduate this year but a lot of hard work ahead this summer! No shortcuts on this road to success. #built4this
— Thon Maker ™ (@ThonMaker14) February 18, 2015Maker's decision is not surprising; the idea had been discussed within basketball circles since last summer.
"That's what we're trying to do," Maker's guardian, Ed Smith, told ESPN.com last month regarding the reclassification. "We've been pretty forward with that."
Maker, a 7-foot South Sudan native who grew up in Australia, plays high school basketball at Orangeville Prep (Ontario, Canada).
He was a top-5-caliber prospect in the 2016 class, but will now immediately become one of the most sought-after players in the country. Kansas and Kentucky are the schools most mentioned, although Missouri, Duke, Louisville and Maryland have all received visits. Indiana, Wake Forest and UCLA are also recruiting him.
"I've been watching college ball for a while," Maker told ESPN.com recently. "And it just causes me to think about that, reclassifying. So I can get ready for college ball.
"The college decision, I can't wait for that. That's what I'm really focused on."
Maker's next step remains up in the air, though.
He could go to college after this season, but that's far from a sure thing. His guardian has discussed the possibility of going overseas for one season, much like former SMU signee Emmanuel Mudiay, who is playing in China this year. Sources also have indicated that Maker could stay at Orangeville for one more season as a postgraduate student and then go straight to the NBA draft in 2016.