Updated 5:10 p.m. Thursday:
After nearly a month of reported mutual interest between the Kansas men’s basketball program and Johnny Furphy, the Australian standout has committed to KU and will play for the Jayhawks this upcoming season, the school announced Thursday night. The news was first reported by 247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham.
The 6-foot-8 small forward, who has played for Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence, dazzled an array of blueblood programs with highlight-laden showings at the NBA Global Academy and Sportradar Showdown last month. He had previously reclassified from 2023 to 2024 in the hopes of developing further, but those strong performances showcased his diverse skill set that combines athleticism with shooting acumen. Now he will effectively return to the class of 2023 in order to join the Jayhawks for this upcoming season.
“He is one of the most gifted, skilled young kids in the 2023 class and certainly as gifted and skilled as any player remaining that we could recruit,” KU coach Bill Self said in a press release. “… He’s well beyond his years from his feel and basketball IQ standpoint. The platform at the NBA Global Academy has allowed him to be seen and recruited at this level. We are very excited about him and think his future is very bright.”
The Centre of Excellence took to social media to support its player, calling his commitment “huge news” for the program, which had also posted a day earlier to wish Furphy good luck on “the next phase of his basketball journey.”
Huge news out of the @BACentreofExcel program with Johnny Furphy committing to prestigious @KUHoops https://t.co/BE7eVA0Jwg
— Centre of Excellence (@BACentreofExcel) August 3, 2023
The addition of Furphy fills a hole that emerged just over two weeks ago when incoming freshman Marcus Adams Jr., a similar positional fit to Furphy, left the program. (Adams later committed to Gonzaga). Self said at the time that the team would ideally add to its roster of just 10 scholarship players — with forward Zach Clemence still committed to redshirting — prior to its summer exhibition trip to Puerto Rico; now, the Jayhawks have been in San Juan since Tuesday but have still managed to bolster their ranks with an 11th athlete.
Although he’ll be raw entering the program — after all, until recently, he was expected to be a year away from attending college — Furphy could be in line for playing time right away, as the Jayhawks lack other wings with size behind Kevin McCullar. He could also potentially appear in a power-forward spot if KU puts four players around Hunter Dickinson, or in a small-ball lineup with KJ Adams Jr. back in the middle.
