THUNDER BAY – On her Instagram page, Agot Makeer’s latest post features her standing, arms crossed and a slight scowl on her face, adorned in her Crestwood Prep jersey.
Beside her, in bright blue letters, is a statement: Top 12.
Directly below are the logos of 12 of the top women’s basketball schools in the NCAA, a list that includes Connecticut, UCLA, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina, the reigning NCAA champions.
Fresh off an all-star appearance, leading Canada to a silver medal at the 2024 FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup, Makeer, whose high school career began at St. Ignatius High School, still has plenty of time to narrow her college choice to one.
She grew up at the Thunderdome, encouraged at a young age by then Thunderwolves coach Jon Kreiner to take a more formalized approach to the game, and blossomed to the point where she led Canada at the worlds with a 17.7 points per game average, scoring 10 points and adding 10 rebounds in the championship game.
The Fargo, N.D.-born point guard, who has called Thunder Bay home for the past six years, said she’s put in the time and it’s starting to pay off.
“I work really hard and I practice a lot. I play with my brothers. I would say just having the confidence that I’m a good player helped me average that much (at the World Cup),” the soon-to-be Grade 12 student said.
“I’m not surprised. That’s the confidence that I have in myself. I’m a good basketball player and I knew I was going to do good at that level. I’ve always loved it. The people around me who push me to do better, that’s why I keep playing.”
She comes by her love of basketball naturally – both of her brothers play. One brother, Makeer, is playing university ball next season south of the border, and Deng led St. Ignatius to an SSSAA senior boys championship a year ago.
Makeer said scoring and versatility are her two biggest strengths on the court.
“I can do a lot of other things than scoring, so that’s what attracts college coaches to me,” she said.
A top-10 2025 prospect, the 6-foot-1 Makeer has made unofficial visits to North Carolina and Michigan State, and an official visit to Virginia Tech, according to 247sports.com.
It feels good to be in demand by so many powerhouse schools, she said.
“But I’ve been in the recruiting process for a couple of years now, so it’s kind of settled down a bit. It feels amazing and it feels good that my hard work is starting to pay off,” Makeer said.
“There’s a lot of things that go into it, like how close it is to home, how often your family can get to games, dorms and just everything about the school, other than basketball. Because I feel I’ve picked 12 schools that have really good basketball programs.”
Beyond the college game, Makeer will also be keeping a close eye on Canada’s efforts at the upcoming Olympic Games, her good friend Syla Swords one of 12 players who will be competing for gold in Paris – and the youngest Canadian Olympic basketball player to date.
Makeer said it’s encouraging knowing this will be the last Olympics for half a dozen current team members, opening up a potential chance for her to compete for a spot at the 2028 Games.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot of intangibles from (Syla), like giving high fives and doing the extra little things, because that’s what she’s doing at that level.”
After 2028, should it come to pass, she’d love to take her game to the WNBA, where she idolizes Kahleah Copper, the four-time WNBA all-star and 2021 finals MVP.
She’s even got a team in mind.
“If you’d asked me this question a year ago, I’d say the Chicago Sky. But maybe playing for the Minnesota Lynx would be cool, because it’s close to home.”
Time will tell.
