Five-Star Prospect Thon Maker Cleared To Enter NBA Draft, To Bypass NCAA

Five-star prospect Thon Maker has been cleared to enter the NBA Draft after spending the past year at prep school, reports ESPN's Chad Ford.

Maker spent the 2015-16 year at the Athlete Institute Basketball Academy in Ontario, following the four years he spent at various high school. He was deciding between Kansas and Arizona State for college, but since he fulfilled the NBA's eligibility rule of being one year removed from graduating high school, he decided to challenge the notion that that the year had to be spent in college. 

He now becomes the first one-and-done player to make the jump straight from prep school to the NBA. A few other players (namely Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay) have bypassed the one-and-done system by playing professionally overseas instead of playing in college before entering the NBA Draft, but now prep school is an option for prospects.

The 7'1", 220-pounder has a versatile skill set and perimeter game that has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant and Myles Turner. He was ranked as the No. 2 power forward and No. 10 overall high school prospect in the 2016 class, and is currently projected to be a late first- or early second-round pick in the draft. However, I think his draft stock will rise as teams get a closer look at his extremely unique combination of size and skill.

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Related Topics: NCAA Basketball, 2016 NBA Draft, Kansas Jayhawks Basketball, Thon Maker, Arizona State Sun Devils Basketball, NBA Draft, NBA News