5-star prospect Makur Maker commits to Howard University over UCLA, Kentucky

UPDATE, August 6: Add Purdue transfer Nojel Eastern to the Bison roster. It’s likely he’ll need a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible for the 2020-21 season however.

UPDATE, August 3: Maker has withdrawn from the NBA Draft.

Five star basketball prospect Makur Maker has made a huge splash with his commitment decision. The Phoenix center announced on Friday he is going to attend Howard University. He chose the school over UCLA, Kentucky, and Memphis.

In announcing the decision on social media, he emphasized the importance of “mak[ing] the HBCU movement real so that others will follow.” He said he hopes to inspire other prospects, and specifically mentioned Mikey Williams. Williams is the top shooting guard prospect in the class of 2023.

In choosing Howard, Maker became the highest-ranked prospect to commit to a historically Black college or university since the ESPN recruiting database started in 2007, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. He is ranked 16th in ESPN’s Top 100 for 2020. He is also eligible for the 2020 draft and entered his name, but as the 75th ranked player in ESPN’s NBA Draft rankings, is expected to withdraw his name.