On Sunday, 4/10, Thon Maker, a high school basketball player from Senegal announced that he will pursue his aspirations of being a professional basketball player by entering the NBA Draft. This decision has shocked many, as many thought that Maker had potential to first be an outstanding college basketball player. He was being recruited by some of the nation’s best schools, including Indiana, Kansas, Notre Dame and Kentucky. Maker has great potential, as these schools can help him nationally showcase his skills.

This decision made by Maker may not be allowed by the NBA. The NBA banned high school basketball players from entering the league in 2005, with no American basketball player entering since that year. One other player, Satnam Singh, has been able to enter the draft, but he played professionally in other countries. Maker follows one of the draft requirements, being that he must be 19 years or older to enter. The other requirement is he must be one year removed from his American high school graduating class. Maker is in his 5th year of high school, as he has moved multiple times around the world, between Australia, Canada and the US. Since he is still technically in high school, it seems doubtful that Maker will be allowed to become a professional basketball player in the NBA. Maker did go to high school for four years already, which puts the league in a difficult situation in which they’ll need to carefully interpret their own rules. There has been no official ruling on Maker’s eligibility yet.