Freshman guard Johnny Furphy will miss Friday’s game against Yale due to “a family commitment that he had to be at,” Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self said Monday night.
“Certainly, we’ve known this for months, that this could potentially happen,” Self said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show. “So we will be without Johnny on Friday.”
Self added that Furphy was originally supposed to leave to go home to Australia prior to Saturday’s game in Indiana, but was able to stay in order to attend that one. He departed Sunday morning for the family obligation, about which Self didn’t elaborate further on Monday, and will miss just the one game.
That will narrow KU’s bench to three scholarship players — Parker Braun, Jamari McDowell and Nick Timberlake, with the latter two in line for increased playing time — for the Jayhawks’ final nonconference home game on Friday.
Furphy, who will be in line to return when KU faces Wichita State at the T-Mobile Center on Dec. 30, is averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in about 13 minutes, as he has frequently served as the Jayhawks’ first man off the bench.
While Furphy’s athleticism and above-the-rim capabilities caught the eye of coaches over the summer — which led to his frenzied college recruitment out of Australia’s Centre of Excellence — some of his biggest utility for KU thus far has been as a 3-point shooter, as he has gone 12-for-31 (38.7%).
The freshman had one point and two rebounds in seven minutes at Indiana.
“And I thought Johnny did fine,” Self said on “Hawk Talk.” “But I didn’t think Johnny was as aggressive as he’s been in some other games.”
His absence could provide a chance for the struggling transfer Timberlake to build some rhythm, as well as for McDowell to continue to earn Self’s confidence after a generally strong showing against the Hoosiers.
The Bulldogs will head to Lawrence at 7-5 and have not played a game since a Dec. 11 road victory at Quinnipiac. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse Friday.
AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann
