The Taipans recruit ready to strike

Jackson Makoi was establishing himself as one of the NBL’s brightest young talents in his debut season with the Sydney Kings, and after a faltering 18 months that has been headlined by his recovery from a severe knee injury, he’s ready to make his mark on the competition with the Cairns Taipans.

Makoi arrived in the NBL on the eve of the NBL23 campaign, following a rookie professional season playing for Finnish side KK Vrijednosnice Osijek,  and despite his development player status he genuinely cracked into the rotation of Sydney’s eventual title-winning side.

He was looming as the Sean Macdonald-type, impactful development player, but before Sean Macdonald. Then, in the final game of the NBL23 regular season, disaster struck.

Makoi had already scored a career-high eight points in Sydney’s Round 18 clash with Perth, in just eight minutes of action. Then, with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, he pulled down a defensive rebound and exploded out of the blocks to surge the entire length of the court.

That type of drive to the rim – and the Euro-step that followed – is pure, trademark Makoi. He’s an athletic, explosive guard who thrives in getting to the interior, but he inadvertently planted his right foot on top of defender Bryce Cotton’s foot when exploding through the paint, and ruptured his ACL.

Makoi couldn’t hit the court for the remainder of Sydney’s second consecutive title triumph, and then missed South Sudan’s historic World Cup campaign prior to NBL24. He made his return to the court with Sydney under Mahmoud Abdelfattah last season, but he’s since moved onto pastures new in search of rebuilding his NBL career, finding his way to Adam Forde’s Cairns.

The Taipans have become a player-churning development program under Forde, with the improvement of Keanu Pinder from Adelaide 36ers reject to All-NBL and Boomers candidate the flagship achievement in the space for the club, and Makoi is hoping to capture some of that same magic in his tenure at the club.

“Fordey’s record speaks for itself when it comes to developing players, bringing people in who might not be a-list players and turning them into some of the league’s best. I feel like he’s done that for years and I believe that’s the reason he keeps recruiting those types of players,” Makoi told NBL Media.

“He’s done amazing things with a lot of players over the last few years, so I wanted to go inside that circle and take that forward step in my career.

“A lot of other players around the league will know this but he’s highly respected by both players and coaches, and getting the insight of his mind and how he works around the game, I think it really suits my style of play.

“Watching their program and being in Cairns as an opponent, I always knew Fordey knew what he was doing, so to talk to him personally and hear about what he wanted to do with his program, I felt like, was super impressive.

“To me, he’s almost like a basketball genius. He’s very good when it comes to details and that’s something I can appreciate because I approach the game the same way, so we’re going to be able to help each other do great things.”

Forde has been clear on what Makoi’s role within his system will be in NBL25, backing up starting point guard Taran Armstrong.

Armstrong is currently presenting his case for an NBA opportunity over in the United States and there’s a genuine possibility he might not even be at Cairns next season, but there are genuine, clear parallels that can be drawn between the strengths of the point guard pair.

Forde is hoping to exploit that similarity in order to ensure a smooth transition within his team no matter who is running the show from the point guard position, at any given moment.

Both players thrive in getting their heads on the rim with explosive, athletic movements. Armstrong’s game is more geared towards quick, sharp movements to leave defenders standing in their shoes, while Makoi is able to utilise pure speed and a lethal change of direction to get into the paint.

When he gets up to speed, there is likely no defender in the NBL that can legally slow him down.

Sydney spotted this talent and high ceiling prior to signing him, and if all went to plan he would be taking a position on the Kings’ main roster for NBL25. Instead, a mutual release was granted and he headed to the Far North.

Kings CEO Chris Pongrass spoke to NBL Media earlier this off-season, and stated a core pillar of the club’s program is its desire to ensure its players are able to get the best out of themselves, whether that’s at the Kings or elsewhere.

That pillar was evident in Jaylin Galloway’s move to the Milwaukee Bucks, Angus Glover’s move to South East Melbourne and, now, Makoi’s move to Cairns.

“I loved my time at the Kings and everybody in the organisation from top to bottom,” Makoi said.

“I’ve got personal relationships with a lot of people there and I had some of the best times of my life there, especially winning that championship in my first year.

“They’re not in the business of holding people back whatsoever and they always have everybody’s personal interests at heart, so I was able to be honest and straightforward.

“After having my exit meeting, I basically told them that if they didn’t mind, I would like to explore other options.

“I loved the energy and answer I got back from them and that’s when I went shopping a little bit and met with Fordey to get the ball rolling there.”

Makoi’s departure from the Kings is part of a dramatic roster restructure under new head coach Brian Goorjian, in which some of Australia’s top collegiate talent has joined established NBL mainstays Bul Kuol and Izayah Le’Afa in signing on for the club.

While opportunity was presenting itself to Makoi within the organisation prior to his injury, he believes playing for an organisation like Sydney sometimes presents a double-edged sword in regards to the rapid improvement of raw, talented young players like himself.

“I feel like it might be a place more for players who have established themselves within their career,” Makoi said.

“There are a lot of veterans and guys who have played at higher levels around the world, so as a young guy it can be hard to kickstart your career at such a place, but you get to learn from a quality program that’s been winning.

“There were pros and cons that came with that situation, but I loved everything about Sydney.

“I’m ready to start taking that step forward in my career to show everyone how talented I am, that I really belong in this league and feel like I could be one of the elite guards.”

Makoi is currently representing the Northside Wizards in NBL1 North prior to potentially linking up with the South Sudanese Olympic squad.

His next clash for the Wizards is set to come against Mitch Norton, Tyrell Harrison and the Southern Districts Spartans on Saturday, May 25 at 7pm AEST.