Although Kansas' bench has been underwhelming this season, one of the few bright spots has been Johnny Furphy. A 6-foot-9 guard based out of Australia, the freshman has averaged 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.5 steals across KU's first 11 contests. However, the Jayhawks will be without him this Friday in their home tilt vs. Yale.
I know what everyone is thinking — it's not even conference play and the team has been bitten by the injury bug. Furphy did battle shin splints in the preseason. But thankfully, this is not an injury-related absence. He is heading to Melbourne for a 'family commitment' and won't be with the team this week. Here's what head coach Bill Self said yesterday.
“Johnny had a family commitment that he actually stayed for the Indiana game — he was supposed to leave before, and he stayed for the Indiana game,” Self said when he spoke to the media.
“I’m not going to go into what it is,” Self continued. “He stayed for the Indiana game and then left early Sunday morning. Johnny will miss one game, the Yale game, in large part because of a family commitment he had to be at. We’ve known about this for months (that) it could potentially happen. We will be without Johnny on Friday.”
From his words, Kansas basketball fans can expect Furphy back by Dec. 30 when the Jayhawks take on the Wichita State Shockers at the T-Mobile Center. His presence will be much more needed than it will be on Friday.
Him being out shouldn't affect KU that much. Yale is having a down year, currently sitting at 7-5 with losses against Weber State, Fairfield, and others. Even without Furphy, Coach Self should be able to exercise the minutes of other bench players like Jamari McDowell or the struggling Nicolas Timberlake more often.
Johnny Furphy will miss the Yale game, according to Self. Self said he’s back home for a family commitment.#kimball
— JayhawkSlant (@JayhawkSlant) December 19, 2023