Really interesting at about the 51 minute point. Ed Smith on some of the decision factors on whether to play for Canada or Australia going forward.

"Are you going to have the access to go back and forth to meet all the obligations of Australia to meet all the obligations of Australia?

Last year, we wanted to go back from america to play in the under 17's, really wanted to but we would have to fund our own trips back and forth because the funding is not there
..
And we would have to make a certain amount of practises to be on that team.

We want to play on the under 19's team.
..
They already played in oceania.
..
You don't want to jump on that team and they use you for one tournament and then you're locked in.

You want to make sure that you have the ability to make the practies and meet the obligations for that country.

If you can't do those things, then you have to start considering other things.

We haven't exhausted all the possibilities of meeting our obligations for Australia.
..
Unfortunately, basketball in Australia is a poorly resourced sport."

omg you have to pay for your own travel?

he should check out NZ's funding and then stfu...

You don't want to jump on that team and they use you for one tournament and then you're locked in.

Basketball Australia need to wake up and pay his travel expenses. This is a future all star

GWB, and then with every other player that you rate? Where does it end?

Why not take the guys who really want to play?

If BA is lacking cash, then putting money towards travel fees for select players would have to come from elsewhere in the program - tournaments, preparation, etc.

I wouldn't go that far and blame the kid for the actions of his guardian. IMO he is just a pawn and every time there is a news outside of Thon's court performance, it is related to something Smith has done or said.

Smith appears very arrogant and ignorant of the situation. He acknowledges the fact that BA has no money but will do nothing to change that. BA funding is clearly linked to performance so if potential superstars don't want to commit to the national team due to lack of funds, it says something about them.

Personally I don't think it would put much strain on anyway depleted budget to bring Maker, Simmons and Bolden (at least) back to a camp, fly them to China and join them to the team in June during final preparations for the Worlds. I'd say this would be around $10K-15K considering that they would replace 3 other players, so the difference is actually in the airfares from the States and local flights.

IMO this has nothing to do with funding, this seems more like either requests coming from Smith are unrealistic or Maker (or Smith rather) has no real interest in joining the program. I just think Smith is concerned Thon's stock would go down if he underperformed at the biggest stage. So fair enough, make a decision and stop fueling speculations and blaming the organisation. At least we can then focus on commenting on Thon's on-court performance (more Thon, less Smith) and support those who decide to represent our country.

So to resonate Isaac:

"Why not take the guys who really want to play?"

Older article on Smith & Thon:
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/refugees-escaping-war-are-aiming-for-the-stars-20130810-2rovx.html

pretty standard move in the media by an agent (let's call it what it is) trying to get his client a better deal. imo BA should hold firm. if they start treating TM different to the other kids then it will cause major issues.

I wouldn't read anything into it as in any event, TM won't be eligible for a Canadian passport for a number of years anyway. by then he should be a Boomers lock.

Smith also got his hooks into Thon's younger brother Mater, and his cousin Makur is one of the latest victims.

Authorities need to step in and stop this parasite.

Agents are bad enough, but this creep actually gets parents to sign over custody of their kids.
Surely this can't be completely legal? Getting refugees who barely understand English to sign over their children.

An approximate age range can be determined through a combination of wrist X-ray, dental test and DNA testing.

Problem is that humans grow at different ages. The wrist test can be good to estimate potential height, but people have growth spurts at different ages. Dental tests vary by ages of appearance of wisdom teeth, and DNA isn't accurate enough for a range of a few years. Even carbon dating once determined that an early coke bottle was thousands of years old.

From New Scientist:
"It’s superficially an easy question to ask, but answering it is fraught with difficulties," says Al Aynsley-Green, an emeritus professor of child health at UCL, who led the study.

We’re really very lucky that the integrity of junior sport (including US College) is so strongly protected by the most scrupulous ethics of all involved and the strong regulatory environment in the US.

He already played for the boomers.... less than a year ago....

... after he made the NBA.

"We're really very lucky that the integrity of junior sport (including US College) is so strongly protected by the most scrupulous ethics of all involved and the strong regulatory environment in the US."

Yeah, so no surprise that none of his victims get the College Education he promises their parents.

What a whacky thread.

D2.0

How many bball scholarship College grads get an education? The 80s and 90s were really bad. Local Junior players with half a brain could spot them.

Doesn't matter. Got game. Seemed to be the ethos then.

I estimate Thon Maker to be 22.