The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing 2023-24 season by their standards. For a program that has NCAA championship aspirations and making yearly tournament runs, they fell short of expectations. In terms of the positives though, Kansas got a solid freshman season from Johnny Furphy, solid enough that Furphy has decided to keep his name in the NBA Draft as per The Field of 68.
A native of Australia, Johnny Furphy committed to Kansas over offers from College of Charleston, Ole Miss, Marquette and Providence. A former four star recruit, Furphy joined the Jayhawks a little bit under the radar. He ultimately played his way into an NBA Draft pick.
Johnny Furphy had until Wednesday to make his decision regarding the NBA Draft or returning to Kansas. He had a solid showing a couple of weeks ago at the combine and thus likely played his way into being a sure-fire first round NBA Draft pick.
During his lone season at Kansas, Furphy appeared in 33 games, including 19 starts, at a little over 24 minutes per game, He averaged 9.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists with splits of 46.6 percent shooting from the field, 35.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 76.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Furphy ended up playing a bit more than initially expected due to the departure of Arterio Morris as well as the injury to Kevin McCullar Jr. Furphy took full advantage of his opportunity and that helped his NBA stock shoot up.
Kansas will be bolstered by a strong incoming group
While Kansas will be losing Johnny Furphy to the NBA Draft, the Jayhawks roster for the 2024-25 season should be a strong one. The Jayhawks finished with an overall record of 23-11 during the 2023-24 season but only 10-8 in Big 12 Conference play. They advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Gonzaga in humiliating fashion in the round of 32.
A big reason for Kansas’ flameout in the NCAA Tournament was the loss of both Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson due to injury. While McCullar has used up his college basketball eligibility, Dickinson announced that he will be returning the Jayhawks.
Kansas has a solid incoming freshman class for this upcoming season as well. Following a strong transfer portal haul, the Jayhawks lost the commitment of Labaron Philon who switched his commitment to Alabama. But they still have Flory Bidunga from Kokomo High School and Rakease Passmore from Combine Academy. Bidunga is considered a five star recruit while Passmore is a four star recruit.
But perhaps the Jayhawks’ biggest additions came from the transfer portal. Kansas added four potential impact players through the portal highlighted by NBA prospect AJ Storr. Like Furphy, Storr had also entered his name in the NBA Draft but he made the decision to go to Kansas by the deadline.
Storr played last season at Wisconsin and has been projected as an NBA wing. He will be joined by former Rice guard Noah Shelby, former Alabama guard Rylan Griffen and former South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo. With a talented roster, there will likely be higher expectations for Kansas for the 2024-25 season.
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