Five-star high school basketball recruit Makur Maker committed to a college program on Friday, and his decision came as a shock to many.
Maker announced on social media that he will be attending Howard.
Maker, a 6-foot-11 senior, was believed to be leaning toward UCLA as of less than two months ago. He also gave consideration to Kentucky and Memphis. Maker explained on Twitter why he committed to Howard and thanked Kentucky coach John Calipari and UCLA coach Mick Cronin.
I was the 1st to announce my visit to Howard & other started to dream “what if”. I need to make the HBCU movement real so that others will follow. I hope I inspire guys like Mikey Williams to join me on this journey. I am committing to Howard U & coach Kenny Blakeney #MakerMob
— Makur Maker (@MakurMaker) July 3, 2020
I want to thank Coach Cal and Coach KP of University of Kentucky Coach Cronin of UCLA and coach Hardaway of Memphis for considering me. It was a tough choice.
— Makur Maker (@MakurMaker) July 3, 2020
According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Maker is the highest-ranked prospect in the ESPN database to ever commit to a historically black school. He is ranked No. 16 in the ESPN 100 for 2020. Maker previously entered his name in the NBA Draft, but he is likely to withdraw it now that he announced he will attend Howard.
Maker was born in Kenya, grew up in Australia, and then moved to the U.S. and was home-schooled in California during high school. The 19-year-old averaged 14.7 points and 7.9 rebounds last year with Dream Vision on the Adidas grassroots circuit. You have to admire the risk he is taking with his career by committing to Howard over some elite programs.
