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Kansas basketball: Ochai Agbaji is finally thriving with the Utah Jazz

ByJoshua Schulman|
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 20: Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Utah Jazz reacts after scoring a basket during the second half of a game against the Sacramento Kings at Vivint Arena on March 20, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 20: Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Utah Jazz reacts after scoring a basket during the second half of a game against the Sacramento Kings at Vivint Arena on March 20, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Ochai Agbaji, one of the Jayhawks’ best players in recent history, has found his niche with the Utah Jazz.

Kansas basketball had two players drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2022. After bringing a national championship to Lawrence for the first time in a decade, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun decided to go to the league.

Agbaji was selected 14th overall, while Braun was picked 21st. While the latter serves as a viable bench player for the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, Agbaji is beginning to show Jazz fans why he was a Wooden Award finalist.

Recent performances from Agbaji give the Jazz hope to make a late-season push for the NBA’s play-in game. He has been on an absolute tear in the past 13 games, averaging 12.9 points and 2.6 threes made per game. In Monday’s win vs. the Sacramento Kings, Agbaji scored 27 points while sinking a career-high six threes. He also tied his highest rebounding total of the season.

His combination of defensive effort and elite shooting forced Jazz head coach Will Hardy to enter Agbaji into the starting rotation. Hardy has made Agbaji a mainstay in the rotation after he struggled to carve out minutes in the first half of the season. In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Hardy had this to say about his rookie:

"“We’re continuing to see his game start to expand a little bit. The shots he is looking for, the shots he is taking. Obviously, it feels better when they go in but I will continue to say that I would feel the same way about Ochai if he had missed a lot of those shots because he is finding and seeing different shots that he wasn’t a month ago.”"

All Jayhawk fans can rejoice in hearing about Agbaji’s recent success. As he gains more experience, he should improve and hopefully evolve into a future NBA star.

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