Kenny Blakeney Lands Biggest HBCU Recruit in Years in Makur Maker
Former Blue Devils player Kenny Blakeney landed one of the biggest recruiting wins in recent HBCU history, when five-star 2020 recruit Makur Maker committed to Howard.
Blakeney took over as head coach of the Bison prior to last season and went 2-20 in his first year. He played for Duke from 1992 to 1995, winning a national title with the Blue Devils as a freshman and redshirting for Duke’s 1991 title season. He has served as an assistant for both Mike Brey and Tommy Amaker, both former members of the Blue Devils staff under Mike Krzyzewski.
Maker is a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center from Phoenix’s Hillcrest Prep. He’s ranked No. 17 in the 2020 class by 247Sports, who has him as the No. 4 center and top player in Arizona. Rivals has him 18 in the class and No. 4 at center. ESPN has him at No. 16.
Maker chose Howard out of a final four that also included Kentucky, UCLA and Memphis. He also had offers from Alabama, Oregon and USC.
Maker made his announcement early Friday morning, tweeting, “I was the 1st to announce my visit to Howard & other started to dream “what if”. I need to make the HBCU movement real so that others will follow. I hope I inspire guys like Mikey Williams to join me on this journey. I am committing to Howard U & coach Kenny Blakeney #MakerMob“
Mikey Williams is a five-star shooting guard considered one of the top three players in the class of 2023.
Blakeney also convinced five-star Josh Christopher to take an official visit to Howard in this recruiting cycle, although he eventually chose to play for another former Blue Devil—Bobby Hurley—at Arizona State.
Maker is currently entered into the NBA Draft, but, since he's not projected as a first-rounder, he's expected to withdraw his name.
