Thon Maker sets official visits to Arizona State, Notre Dame
Thon Maker’s recruiting process is moving along, with the five-star Australian setting up dates to officially visit the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Maker will visit the Sun Devils on 18 April, and then moving on to Notre Dame a week later on 25 April.
Maker has already visited the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels and the Kansas Jayhawks, with the Indiana Hoosiers and the St John’s Red Storm the only other interested colleges he has yet to schedule an official visit with.
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“I’ve taken so many unofficial [visits] because people always told me to take as many as you can just to see a little bit outside of it and then when you take officials, really get an in-depth of the program itself,” Maker said a few weeks ago, via North Pole Hoops.
As we documented earlier this month, each of the six remaining schools left in Maker’s decision all have different selling points for the Aussie.
For Arizona State and Notre Dame, the two schools next on Maker’s visit list, neither have a go-to superstar player on the roster. Zach Auguste is departing from the Fighting Irish creating the void and the Sun Devils never had a commanding big man presence in the first place.
Maker is only planning on staying in college for one season, so playing time will be a major factor in his decision.
To rebuild some draft stock he has lost, he needs to be on the court and not on the bench. An argument can be made that forcing Maker to earn his minutes is a better learning experience than handing him a starting spot but in his situation, this isn’t the case. You can’t impress NBA teams by sitting on the bench, you need to be the go-to piece and ASU and Notre Dame offer this luxury.
The Fighting Irish also have an endorsement deal with Under Armour, another aspect to keep an eye on. St John’s also have connections with the sportswear brand but they are currently on the outside looking in, along with Indiana.
By all accounts, the visits Maker already has had have gone well. The upcoming set of visits should prove no different.
If we can take anything from this news, it’s that St John’s and Indiana may be slowly falling out of the race. With no official visit date set in sight for those two schools, they have a lot of ground to make up in the recruitment chase.
Maker is expected to make his decision in late April.
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