Australia's next wave of basketball talent is about to land in the NBA.
Matur Maker, the younger brother of Milwaukee Bucks centre Thon Maker, scored 45 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in front of 40 NBA scouts at a high school game in Toronto, Canada on Thursday.
"This definitely wasn't a waste of time," one scout told Sports Illustrated after watching 20-year-old, 208cm tall Maker dominate.
Geelong's Jock Landale, the 211cm star centre on California's St Mary's College squad, also confirmed his elite status on Thursday when he was named one of 25 NCAA players in contention for the prestigious John Wooden Award.
Andrew Bogut won the Wooden honour in 2005 before becoming the top pick in that year's NBA Draft.
Landale is averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds for the high-flying Gaels, who have a 15-2 record and lead the West Coast Conference.
Maker and Landale have chosen different paths in an attempt to make the NBA.
The Sydney-born Maker plays for Canada's Mississauga Prep and will skip US college and declare for June's NBA Draft, just as his older brother did two years ago.
Landale, 22, a former Geelong Grammar student, is in his fifth year at St Mary's.
Australia already has a record nine players in the NBA, headed by Ben Simmons, Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Ingles.
The number is expected to grow with Maker, Landale and the Philadelphia 76ers expected to recall last year's 36th overall draft pick Jonah Bolden back from Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv.
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