Thon Maker's real age could be 4 years older?

[Russ Smith]

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Went to HS in Perth, graduated, was discovered by US guy, who moved him to Sydney and re-enrolled him in HS apparently.

 

[SunsTzu]

Australian posters on realgm have been saying this since his youtube highlights started to surface. If Hammond did actually make the pick I'd feel a bit better about it if I were a Bucks fan since his draft record is pretty good, but my understanding is he has one foot out the door and Kidd is calling the shots.

 

[GatorAZ]

One of the more overrated prospects we've ever seen.

 

[Phrazbit]

lol, wouldn't be surprised if this factored into his skipping college too. If Hammond (or Kidd) knew and drafted him anyway then they're idiots. As a raw 19 year old prospect Maker was a really risky proposition. If he is 23 (maybe older seeing as he graduated in 2010) and as fundamentally flawed as he is, I'd take him off the draft board completely. Late 2nd round material.

 

[slinslin]

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Before the draft, Thon Maker's guardian Ed Smith told me that reddit yearbook photo was from an English school in Perth, not a high school.

 

[Phrazbit]

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Before the draft, Thon Maker's guardian Ed Smith told me that reddit yearbook photo was from an English school in Perth, not a high school.

A quick google search reveals that, English or not, that school caters to kids in their 8th-12th year of education, and seeing as that is a graduation photo, that would make it the equivalent of a HS senior here.

 

[overseascardfan]

Isn't his brother a basketball prospect as well in HS this year? Wonder how old he really is?

 

[Russ Smith]

Isn't his brother a basketball prospect as well in HS this year? Wonder how old he really is?

Yep he is. All I can think of is that assistant that ASU hired entirely to try and get Thon Maker. As soon as he announced he was turning pro they fired the guy(he'd gotten a DUI recently too to be fair). So that guy got paid presumably good money for a year to do nothing but ostensibly recruit a kid who as it turns out likely wasn't ever NCAA eligible.

Good job if you can get it.

 

[slinslin]

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[Russ Smith]

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Yeah if you read that link they're openly talking about how it's not all that difficult to do that and get an ID that changes your age.

No idea but apparently Australian people have been talking about this for a couple of years now. I just know it's happened before, I remember the St Louis Cards baseball team having a Nicaraguan player named David Green who was one of the top prospects in the game until people started saying he was 5 years older than he claimed. Famed scout Howie Haak was the one who publicly said he tried to sign Green years earlier and his age then would make him 5 years older than he was now. Green claimed Haak confused him with his older brother. Eventually Green admitted to being 1 year older but by then he'd sort of bombed out as a prospect due to other issues. Apparently nobody ever believed the 1 year thing once the rumors came out.

 

[slinslin]

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He looks good.

I want to believe he is 19. His face still looks really young imo and what makes the whole faked age story more unlikely is that he has a younger brother who would also have to a have fake id.. I'd like to think that Australian immigration offices can tell the difference between 5 year olds and 10 year olds.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

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He looks good.

I want to believe he is 19. His face still looks really young imo and what makes the whole faked age story more unlikely is that he has a younger brother who would also have to a have fake id.. I'd like to think that Australian immigration offices can tell the difference between 5 year olds and 10 year olds.

I was at this game (four rows back, center) and there were a LOT of lowlights. Obviously, he had his moments, but I saw a player with a questionable basketball IQ who looks like he will be eaten alive in the NBA, and who isn't as skilled as advertised.

The game started with him bricking an open 3, then giving up a 3 to the opposing big man. He then bricked another 3, and then tried a slow-developing post move that was easily blocked. Soon after, he tried a pick and roll and completely missed the pass as it sailed out of bounds. His first few minutes were Kendall Marshall bad.

He got better as the game went on, and there are things to like. He rebounds fairly well (at least on this level) and has an excellent combo of mobility and hustle for a 7-footer. However, I felt he played much more like the late first rounder he was billed to be than a top-10 selection and future star.

It's just my opinion, and I've been wrong before, but I was unimpressed.

Now, Kris Dunn, on the other hand...Wow.

 

[Errntknght]

I only saw the highlights (and a few lowlights) but I liked Maker's D. You're right about Dunn, he was impressive at both ends.

 

[95pro]

I wonder what Hakeem Olajuwon's real age is

 

[sunsfan88]

I wonder what Hakeem Olajuwon's real age is

Or Serge Ibaka's. Or Bismack Biyombo's. Hell maybe even Joel Embiid.

 

[Dback Jon]

Or Serge Ibaka's. Or Bismack Biyombo's. Hell maybe even Joel Embiid.

Or Greg Oden

 

[Bodha]

I don't see why it matters.


You can be a 19 year old superstar or a 24 year old superstar.

You can be a 19 year old bust or a 24 year old bust.


Basket doesn't care how old you are. Within the arc is 2 points. Outside is 3 points.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't see why it matters.


You can be a 19 year old superstar or a 24 year old superstar.

You can be a 19 year old bust or a 24 year old bust.


Basket doesn't care how old you are. Within the arc is 2 points. Outside is 3 points.

Well, until you're proven, of course it matters. Scouts are trying to estimate what these guys will become once they are more experienced and once they have fully matured. If you're fully matured and have that much experience then you need to be rated for who you are now not who they think you'll become. And if you're lying about your age, that hinders their ability to make fair evaluations.

 

[Bodha]

Well, until you're proven, of course it matters. Scouts are trying to estimate what these guys will become once they are more experienced and once they have fully matured. If you're fully matured and have that much experience then you need to be rated for who you are now not who they think you'll become. And if you're lying about your age, that hinders their ability to make fair evaluations.

That's just a difference in opinion to scouting approach.

You draft for potential. Maybe he becomes a superstar.

I draft for what is right now. If the kids good, then I get a good player. He he turns into a superstar, then I got lucky.


I loathe drafting on potential. Its how we end up with Alex Len and Dragan Bender.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That's just a difference in opinion to scouting approach.

You draft for potential. Maybe he becomes a superstar.

I draft for what is right now. If the kids good, then I get a good player. He he turns into a superstar, then I got lucky.


I loathe drafting on potential. Its how we end up with Alex Len and Dragan Bender.

No, it isn't. It has nothing to do with that. This is about lying to game the system, nothing more. 19 year old players are almost always just a fraction of the player they will become at 24. And the NBA is always about drafting for potential, some are closer to their potential than others but it's always guesswork.

And we ended up with Len and Bender because we were a bad team in a bad lottery year. There were safer options both times but safer options are a dime a dozen.

 

[Bodha]

No, it isn't. It has nothing to do with that. This is about lying to game the system, nothing more. 19 year old players are almost always just a fraction of the player they will become at 24. And the NBA is always about drafting for potential, some are closer to their potential than others but it's always guesswork.

And we ended up with Len and Bender because we were a bad team in a bad lottery year. There were safer options both times but safer options are a dime a dozen.

Lying about what? Stop trying to make it more complicated than it is. I get it. You like to project what a young kid might eventually turn into, which is why youth is preferable.


Its just a difference of scouting approach.


If everything were potential, potential, potential then why do teams sign veteran free agents?

Because Vets are proven commodities. Whatever that may be. 8 ppg, 4 rbs, 1 blk? That's fine. Because you know what youre getting.

My preferred approach is similar to that of "moneyball". IDC about potential. I care about wins. And you can build a very good team out of guys whove already reached their full potential, even if they aren't superstars.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I agree that the whole "potential" aspect of evaluation sometimes misses what a player actually is right now. It also assumes a player is likely to develop, which is never a guarantee. A 19 year old player could have hit his peak. A player at 23 could still improve. Its alright to consider potential, but it can be way overblown.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I agree that the whole "potential" aspect of evaluation sometimes misses what a player actually is right now. It also assumes a player is likely to develop, which is never a guarantee. A 19 year old player could have hit his peak. A player at 23 could still improve. Its alright to consider potential, but it can be way overblown.

Obviously it can work both ways, but the odds are far in the favor of a 19 year old being far below their peak than the 23-24 year old. Yeah there are exceptions, but far more often it is the 19 year old that has the most improvement left in them.