Kansas basketball’s Ochai Agbaji to ‘test the waters’ in the NBA Draft

Amid a busy couple of weeks for the Kansas basketball program, junior Ochai Agbaji has declared for his summer’s upcoming NBA draft.

According to many KU news outlets, he will sign with an agent but will follow the NCAA’s procedures to retain his college eligibility.

There’s some variability in Agbaji’s projections, as he is the No. 25 overall picks on the NBA’s mock board to No. 41 on Sports Illustrated’s board. While some people may argue a consistent final season at KU would drastically improve his draft stock, others surrounding the program may agree that it’s a smart decision for him at this point.

Agbaji averaged 33.7 minutes, 14.1 points, and 3.7 rebounds per game in his junior season. While he showed many glimpses of being able to take over a game, he lacked consistency at times. NBA scouts, however, should be impressed by his athleticism and shooting ability.

So, where does this leave the Jayhawks? There has been some shuffling as of late, as Tyon Grant-Foster, Jethro Muscadin, Latrell Josell, and Tristan Enaruna have all decided to transfer away from KU. These four reserves averaged just 23 minutes on the season. However, KU has been on the receiving end of the transfer portal with recent commitments from Cam Martin and Joseph Yesufu.

Within the last few weeks, KU has suddenly become a fairly young team, and the departure of Agbaji certainly doesn’t help that. Agbaji looked like he was poised to have a pretty standout senior season as the leader of the Jayhawks. However, KU should have plenty of pieces to replace him should he remain in the NBA draft pool.

In addition to commitments from Martin and Yesufu, the Jayhawks 2021 recruiting class is completed (for now) by high school players Zach Clemence, K.J Adams, and Bobby Pettiford as well as juco transfer Sydney Curry.