Makur Maker may go to college after all, and UK is in consideration

The Kentucky Wildcats may have an unexpected option for their frontcourt next season.

You probably remember Makur Maker, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2020 who has been set on entering the 2020 NBA Draft. He’s already been declared eligible for the draft and is testing the waters right now, and the expectation has been he’ll keep his name in,

However, Maker just revealed to Evan Daniels that going to college is still an option, and Kentucky is a school in consideration.

“Out west I’d consider UCLA and maybe Oregon, but if I’m not out west, I’d consider Kentucky, you know Kentucky has everybody they produce pros like Anthony Davis, Boogie Cousins, coach Calipari has it all and maybe Auburn also.”

Maker, who plays at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix (AZ), is rated as a five-star prospect at 247 Sports, where he’s the fifth-ranked overall recruit and the second-best center in the country for 2020. Only Evan Mobley is ahead of him.

For a refresher on Makur’s unique eligibility, back October, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported that Maker had a way of skipping college and going straight to the pros. According to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement “a player shall be eligible for selection” as long as he “(A) is or will be at least nineteen (19) years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held, and (B) at least one (1) NBA Season has elapsed since the player’s graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school).”

Maker turned 19 in November and will be a year removed from his original high school graduating class of 2019 come draft time, which is why the NBA deemed him eligible for the 2020 draft.

But Maker being unable to workout for teams due to the COVID-19 outbreak has kept him from convincing NBA teams that he’s worthy of a draft pick. That’s why he’s now taking a hard look at attending college next season, and it sounds like Kentucky will be in the mix.

However, the Oregon Ducks have long been viewed as the favorites for Maker if he does attend college. It’s hard to say if that’s still the case since the assumption has been he’d be a pro this year, so this will be an intriguing recruitment to follow if he does indeed attend college.

It’s also unclear if Kentucky still has any interest in Maker, but judging by their frontcourt issues, they should be.

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