On Saturday, the NBA announced its official combine list of college and international basketball players that are invited to this year’s NBA pre-draft event. Last year, both Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar Jr. represented the Kansas Jayhawks at the combine, prior to them each being selected in the second round of the draft. This year, no KU players were invited, which is rare.
Despite Kansas having a player drafted in 13 of the last 15 seasons, following Kansas’ historically poor season in 2024-2025, it would not be unexpected at all to see no KU players drafted this year. There were no Jayhawks taken in the 2019 or 2021 drafts either and this year feels eerily similar to those previous down years where there was a lack of NBA talent.
In those previous years however, players like Dedric Lawson, Devon Dotson, and Ochai Agabji were still invited to the combine (with the latter two returning to KU following the combine). 2025 will mark the first time since 2009, the down year following the elite 2008 Championship run, where no Jayhawks players were invited to the NBA draft combine.
Were there any Jayhawks that did deserve a combine invite this year that got snubbed?
Both Zeke Mayo and Hunter Dickinson were snubbed from the combine
This is not to say that either Hunter Dickinson or Zeke Mayo deserve to be selected in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, nor should they be viewed as top-75 NBA prospects, but both KU players had an argument for an invite to the combine at the very least. Instead the NBA opted for other seniors or younger prospects that franchises were more interested in working out.
Starting with Dickinson, the 7-foot-2 fifth year senior was a two-time consensus All-American and a three-time AP All-American. In his two years in Lawrence, he averaged 17.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 1.2 BPG. Dickinson has already gotten connected with college basketball media and set himself up with a future there, but many were still expecting a combine invite considering his accolades.
Mayo’s argument is obviously shakier, but has to be stated as well. He was the 2023-2024 Summit League Player of the Year where he averaged 18.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.1 SPG for South Dakota State. The Lawrence native then transferred to Kansas and had his ups and downs but still averaged 14.6 PPG on an NBA-caliber 42.2% from beyond the arc.
His 3-point shooting alone is what would have made a combine invitation plausible, considering Mayo showcased the 19th best 3FG% in the country this last year and third best 3FG% among “Power Five” conference players. Mayo trailed only Kentucky’s Koby Brea and Houston’s LJ Cryer. While Brea was invited to the combine, similarly to Mayo, Cryer was not.
Next year, the Jayhawks will almost certainly have a player at the 2026 NBA Draft Combine thanks to Darryn Peterson, who is projected to be a top-5 pick. Will any other KU players join him however? Only time will tell.