St. John’s has jumped into the Thon Maker Sweepstakes.
St. John’s assistant coach Barry “Slice” Rohrssen visited with the 7-foot Maker on Monday at Orangeville Prep in Ontario.
“We’ve known Slice since UK as he was the one who visited us last year,” Ed Smith, Maker’s guardian, told SNY.tv. “He feels that with Chris Mullin being a former [NBA] GM and a Hall of Fame member, the experience in dealing with an elite player like Thon is there. He also pointed out that New York City is a 45-minute flight from Toronto and Thon would be near his brother.
“New York is a major market and he feels if you get a Thon and a Rawle Alkins it would be special in turning around St. John’s.”
Maker, an athletic forward originally from the Sudan who opted to spend all of the 2015-16 season at Orangeville Prep, is projected as a first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Maker said he’s definitely interested in St. John’s, but wants to learn more about the program
“He recruited me at Kentucky and he’s a pretty cool dude,” Maker said of Slice. “I don’t know much about St. John’s, to be honest. But I definitely know about New York City, that’s one of my favorite cities around the world.
“I’ve been to New York probably over 10 times already [for games].”
Asked if he could see himself playing there, he said, “Yeah, St. John’s I’m still learning about them, but of course.”
Maker has recently has home visits with Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley and Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. Kentucky, Florida State, Tennessee, Iowa State and Indiana are also calling, Smith said.
Maker will take his SAT on Saturday, and after that they will be able to plan some college visits.
