Thon Maker

Thon Marial Maker (born 25 February 1997) is a South Sudanese Australian professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended high school at Orangeville District Secondary School and played basketball for Canada\'s Athlete Institute. Coming out of high school, Maker was considered a five-star recruit by most basketball recruiting services.\n', ' Maker was born in Wau, a city located in what is now South Sudan. His uncle, a local administrator, arranged for Maker, his younger brother, Matur, and his aunt to escape the civil war to Uganda. From there, they were accepted as refugees by Australia; they then moved to Perth, Western Australia when Maker was five years of age and the family eventually settled down.\n', ' When he was 14, Maker was discovered playing soccer in the Perth suburb of Mirrabooka, by Edward Smith, an Australian of African-American heritage who helps children from migrant backgrounds receive opportunities they otherwise wouldn\'t get. Smith had previously helped fellow Sudanese immigrants Ater Majok and Mathiang Muo, now both professional basketball players. Smith offered his aunt to feed, clothe and educate Maker in Sydney where Maker played basketball for the St. George Basketball Association during 2011. Just before the team\'s playoffs, Maker and Smith left to attend a talent camp in Texas.\n', '