3 lessons from former Kansas Jayhawks prove that Johnny Furphy should enter NBA Draft
By Tyler Key
In what has been a somewhat frustrating season for the Kansas Jayhawks’ men’s basketball team, there has been one considerable bright spot in Johnny Furphy. After Arterio Morris was dismissed from the team, Elmarko Jackson, who entered Lawrence as a 5-star recruit, underwhelmed as a plug-in starter next the the KU Core Four (Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr., KJ Adams Jr., and Dejaun Harris). This led Coach Bill Self to make a lineup change on January 13th against Oklahoma, inserting Furphy into the starting five.
Since that moment, Furphy has shown not only flashes of upside but also consistent high-level play over the last month or so of Big 12 play. He has now scored 11+ points in nine of his last ten games, hitting 3+ threes in six of those matchups. Since becoming a starter for KU, The 6’9” Australian has also connected on 54.0% of his field goal attempts and 41.2% of his threes. At just 19 years old, Furphy has even developed a great knack for getting to the free throw line, shooting 4+ free throws in six of his last eight games. This has caused many NBA Draft analysts to begin looking at him as a potential option to enter the 2024 NBA Draft.
Currently the following sites that post NBA mock drafts have Furphy listed as a projected first-round draft pick:
NBA Draft Room: 10th pick
NBADraft.net: 11th pick
CBS: 17th pick
Bleacher Report: 21st pick
ESPN: 29th pick
If Furphy does in fact continue to rise up draft boards through the last two months of the college basketball season, does it make sense for him to declare for the 2024 NBA draft? If he is a projected lottery pick, (KU fans cover your ears) Absolutely! Here’s three huge reasons why…