He's discovered the loophole that means you don't need to have ever really played consistently against quality opposition and still get drafted.

I wonder what his legal implications may be if an NBA team drafts him thinking he's 19, but then finds out he is not?

I'm not sold that he is only 19.

He's talented, but I think he's closer to 23 years old.

Wow, we almost had a thread about an African basketball player without a reference to his age. Almost!

His race has nothing to do with it.

And pretty sure he is Sudanese, not African? or are they the same thing? I dunno.

It's not because he is African that we are questioning his age. It is because it is RUMORED that he migrated to Australia with no birth certificate, and by the time a birth certificate was made, his age was younger than what he actually was.

This has benefits and is common. However in an industry where age, longevity and potential are big issues it should be talked about.

Na Sudans in Northern Europe I think, they don't believe in birth certificates up there.

He is looking like a red herring. He was very good a few years ago, but everyone else caught up and he never developed physically. He is still the same beanpole he was when he turned up in the US, and that just seems to be his body type.

He will go to the D league, probably get crushed, and end up in some obscure second-tier European league. I'd love to be proven wrong. He looked like a generational talent at one point. But then again, so do a lot of kids that go nowhere a few years later.

(Mod: Removed at author's request.)

RMQ, poor record keeping as much as anything. People said the same things about Yao and Yi. Suspicion of foreigners. I just think it's better to leave it out of the discussion unless you have real information.

How long did Yao and Yi last?

I'm not nor will I ever be an NBA GM. But if I was, a players age would be something I'd consider when drafting them.

A 19 year old with potential has to be better than a 23 year old with the same potential right?

I'm not doubt Thon's ability. I'm just amazed there's so little discussion about his age and the effect it would have on his professional career.

There's so little discussion because there is so little to discuss.
I doubt anyone would dispute age being a factor when trying to assess a player's current development and future potential, but in the absence of any concrete proof of anything and presumably no simple way to find out his true age, how much is there to really talk about?

Friends of ours adopted 2 kids from Ethiopia and they don't know exactly how old they are. One kid is 15 and the other 13 but they think their both at least one or possibly two years older.

Think it happens a lot in African countries

He is nothing like Ater Majok.

Thon is a finesse offensive player, unfortunately at this stage he can't play on the perimeter (too slow / uncoordinated / can't shoot / no feel for the game), yet he has no post moves and doesn't like contact so can't play inside.

He's stuck in no man's land, like all of the "stretch" bigs that can't shoot.

The plan to turn him into "the next Kevin Durant" instead of "the next Kevin Garnett" was a HUGE mistake.

However, the biggest knock on him -- and it's huge -- is he has terrible hands. They're way too small. You can't make it at that size with bad hands.

If the kid can ball who really cares about his age. He obviously has a decent amount of talent otherwise he wouldn't be getting a look. Lets judge him after a couple of NBA seasons under his belt.

But Train, he's likely to be retired within a few seasons :-)

The problem lies in believing that he is somehow "special". Sure, in Australia, its only recently that we have seen these athletic 7ft kids from Sudan, but the Yanks have been raiding Africa (in one way or another) for a very long time. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of "Ed Smiths" all doing the same thing. Buying kids in Africa and selling them to high schools and colleges.

You can make up your own mind about the "uncle Eds" of the world. They get parents (or aunties etc) who are often illiterate to sign over guardianship of the kids. The kids gets dragged allover the world, to whatever team will line his pockets, usually avoiding anything resembling an actual education. When the kid doesn't make it to the NBA (as the vast majority do not) he is left broke, uneducated, and bitter.

I'm not a big fan of the "system" as it is, but at least if these kids got a high-school level education, and hopefully even a college diploma, out of it, that would be something.

The really bad part about kids like Thon, is that they are being taken from Australia where they would have received a decent FREE education any way.