Kentucky coach John Calipari may visit the Orangeville Prep duo of Thon Maker and Jamal Murray this weekend in Ontario, according to a report from Kyle Tucker of The Louisville Courier-Journal.
“I can neither confirm nor deny” that Calipari will visit the duo, Orangeville coach Larry Blunt told Tucker. “Those guys have tried to put plans together to meet with [Murray’s] family and the young man. They’ve been up a few times and hopefully they’ll be up again soon.
“It always helps to be able to make a trip and have an opportunity to see multiple guys, I know that.”
The 7-foot Maker is working toward reclassifying to 2015 from 2016, but his situation may not be resolved until later this summer, maybe even August. It’s also possible he will never step foot on a college campus because of amateurism issues.
Still, Kentucky, Indiana and Duke are among those who have recruited the athletic 7-footer.
Kentucky just lost seven guys to the NBA, including four bigs. They also lost out on several 2015 bigs who chose other schools, including Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV), Thomas Bryant (Indiana) and Caleb Swanigan (Michigan State).
“They’re very interested in [Maker]. You don’t find many guys 7-foot-1 who can run, jump, change direction, shoot and are as multi-faceted as he is,” Blunt told Tucker. “I think they’re very, very interested, and I think he’s very interested in them. Finding a place that can highlight what he can do is very, very important to him.”
As for the 6-5 Murray, his stock has soared recently, especially after he impressed at the Basketball Without Borders Camp at the NBA All-Star Game and then went for 30 points to lead the World Team over the U.S. at last week’s Nike Hoop Summit.
He has flirted with reclassing to 2015 and both Duke and Kentucky are among those interested in his services next season.
“I think right now the plan is to stay 2016,” Blunt told Tucker. “He’s worked really hard in accelerating his academic piece – which is hats off to his family and Jamal for really putting time in – but as far as I know and as far as the discussions, the plan is to stay 2016.”
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