It was seen as a joke when Makur Maker paid a recruiting visit to Howard University last fall, before moving on to a serious discussion: What if a five-star recruit opted to play college basketball at a historically black university?
That “what if” discussion came true on Friday morning when Maker, the 16th player on the ESPN 100, announced on Twitter that he would be attending Howard University in the fall.
“I need to make the HBCU movement real for others to follow me,” Maker wrote. “I hope to inspire guys like Mikey Williams to join me on this journey. I commit to Howard U and coach Kenny Blakeney. “
I was the first to announce my visit to Howard and others started dreaming “what if”. I need to make the HBCU movement real for others to follow me. I hope to inspire guys like Mikey Williams to join me on this journey. I commit to Howard U and coach Kenny Blakeney #MakerMob
– Makur Maker (@MakurMaker) July 3, 2020
The Twitter announcement at 3:38 a.m. Friday came 12 hours after Maker announced his last four college options: Howard, UCLA, Kentucky and Memphis. Maker, who was born in Kenya and whose family is from Sudan, had originally planned to announce his decision about the university on July 9, which is South Sudan’s Independence Day.
Maker is the first five-star to commit to an HBCU since ESPN began ranking prospects in 2007.
“We are not sure what it will look like,” Blakeney said earlier this week. “But we are more than excited.”
Maker is a 6-foot-11-inch center with exceptional ball handling skills, which will give Blakeney plenty of options to use his talent. While there have historically been black college and university teams (HBCUs) with exceptional guards over the years, it is rare to have such a great talented man at that level.
Just before transferring to Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, where he finished his high school career, Maker was one of two five-star recruits who visited Howard last year. Joshua Christopher, the 11th player in the class, was the other.
That rekindled the debate over whether it was possible for one of the nation’s top recruits to attend an HBCU. Maker’s visit to Washington in October came during Howard’s homecoming, where prospective recruits can easily be seduced by the weekend’s star power that in 2019 included performances by DaBaby, Juvenile, and Kanye West.
Getting two of the nation’s top high school talents to pay an official visit to an HBCU is unheard of, especially when major schools like Kentucky and UCLA have a lot to show for the tens of millions of dollars their sports programs attract in every year. However, Maker and Christopher said their visit was not just for show.
“I would never waste anyone’s time,” said Christopher, who chose to attend the state of Arizona.
During his visit to Howard, Maker talked about “changing the narrative” when it came to an outstanding player attending an HBCU.
“I think we are starting a different culture with the best recruits coming to visit here and we take it seriously,” Maker told The Undefeated before discussing with Howard’s basketball team. “A lot of HBCUs are being overlooked.”
Maker, raised in Australia before coming to the United States in 2015, left the visit impressed.
“There are many business opportunities, many black leaders here,” Maker said during his visit. “I have seen alumni. I spoke to the president. The opportunity is here.
“It seems everyone is all together, everyone knows each other,” he added. “Culture is definitely here. I have never seen anything like this.
Maker will enter a first year that will be completely different because the global pandemic will affect the appearance of the university experience. The current Black Lives Matter movement has also affected the minds of many young black men who participated in protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis.
Like many five-star athletes, Maker could be a single player. If he chooses to join the NBA 2021 draft, he’ll try to join his cousin, Detroit Pistons forward Thon Maker, in the NBA. A cousin, Matur Maker, plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G League.
Makur Maker testified for the NBA draft in April. He was included as the No. 75 prospect on the ESPN 100 list of the best players available for the 2020 draft.
