A basketball player who’s training in Orangeville right now is taking an unusual route to follow his NBA dream.
Thon Maker is 17-years-old, seven feet tall, and currently the best basketball player in all North American high schools.
He was born in Sudan, and spent the last year in Louisiana and Virginia.
But instead of continuing his training in the U.S., he’s moved to a prep school in Orangeville to focus on his game.
He says he needed a place to train that would keep his ego in check, and where there wasn’t as much “hype” as there is in the U.S. system.
“People saying 'you’re the man now...you don’t need to get better’ gets to me a lot because it’s telling you to relax and rest. I don’t need that. I don’t want that at all."
Both Thon and his little brother Matur are now training at Orangeville’s Athlete Institute with some of Canada’s premiere prospects.
His teammates say they’re glad the brothers made the move.
"We're just proving to a lot of international people and the U.S. people that us Canadians don’t have to go down south to be showcased,” said Orangeville Prep guard Jalen Poyser. “We can showcase ourselves up here.”
Whether Maker can make the jump from high school ball to the NBA remains to be seen, but he says when the time comes, he’ll be ready.
