Kentucky showing interest in 5-star big man Makur Maker

After a handful of recruits made the trip to Lexington to watch the Kentucky Wildcats take down the Kansas Jayhawks this weekend, there’s a report that both schools are interested in a rising recruit in 2020.

247 Sports’ Evan Daniels is reporting that Kentucky has shown interest in five-star center Makur Maker from California. Daniels actually spoke with Maker’s guardian, Ed Smith, about the five-star big man’s evolving recruitment.

“Oregon really likes him, and Dana Altman and Mike Mennenga were here,” Smith said. “USC and UCLA, before Alford got fired. Recently, I spoke to Kenny Payne from Kentucky and Kurt [Townsend] from Kansas. I did miss a call from Oklahoma State also.”

There has actually been speculation that the 6-11, 235-pound Maker could reclassify into the 2019 class (who isn’t these days), but for now, Smith says the plan is to stay in 2020.

Still, Kentucky and Kansas are both without big man commitments in 2019, so if one or both of them makes a push for Maker, perhaps he’ll change his tune on what class he’ll be in. Kansas could lose Dedric Lawson and Udoka Azubuike to the NBA Draft, while Kentucky will lose Reid Travis to graduation and likely PJ Washington the NBA.

It just so happens both schools are believed to be the top two contenders for 2019 big man Matthew Hurt. Perhaps whoever misses on him could make a bigger push for Maker as a 2019 recruit, if he’s still open to it this summer that is.

Maker is rated as a five-star prospect by 247 Sports, where hs is the 24th-ranked overall recruit, the fifth-best prospect from the state of California, and the fifth-best center in the country for 2020.

Maker is actually the cousin of Milwaukee Bucks big man Thon Maker, who was once a big-time UK recruit in the Class of 2016, but he ultimately found a way to skip college and go straight to the NBA.

This weekend, the Cats welcomed 2020 five-star Center Hunter Dickinson from Maryland. Early on, Dickinson and N’Faly Dante have appeared to be Kentucky’s top center prospects for 2020, but with the lack of frontcourt depth for 2019 and beyond, Maker is definitely a new name to watch for.

Check out some highlights of Maker in action:

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