Why KU’s Johnny Furphy declared for the NBA Draft (and why a return is possible)
Kansas Jayhawks freshman guard Johnny Furphy declared for the NBA Draft on April 16. It was a decision that he’d pondered for a while.
After hiring Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports as his agent in early April, Furphy was constantly communicating about his future with KU coach Bill Self and his coaching staff.
Now, Furphy is two weeks into training for the May 12-19 NBA Combine in Chicago. But before heading north, he stopped by Lawrence to talk to Self and confirm his plans.
“He wanted to touch base before starting the pre-draft process,” Richard Furphy, Johnny’s father, told The Star. “He (Self) was great. He’s like, ‘Johnny, whatever you do, there’s a spot here for you, but go and do what you’ve got to do and do it 100%. If you come back, we’ll be delighted.’
“So, Johnny went away from that knowing that he’s got full support from coach and that he feels great about it.”
Richard Furphy explained his son’s thought process in submitting his name as an early entrant for this year’s draft. As an early entrant, the 19-year-old from Australia has until 11:59 p.m. on May 29 to withdraw his name from consideration for the draft (if he does, he’d retain his collegiate eligibility).
“Johnny always thought if the opportunity was there, it would be a good learning experience, no matter what,” Richard Furphy said. “And he’d probably be better for it. … It was more about taking the opportunity that was presented because he was clearly on the radar and clubs were interested.”
Right now, Furphy is intensely focused on improving his conditioning. He’s also doing individual and group workouts, the latter with fellow Priority-repped players who are eligible for the draft.
Furphy is getting a lot out of the training, according to his father, and has found the individual focus to be helpful.
Most NBA mock drafts project Furphy as a late first-round or early second-round pick. Richard said the feedback they’ve received has Furphy as a late first-rounder. Furphy ended his freshman season averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds and was voted to the Big 12’s all-freshman team.
Richard Furphy said that Johnny hasn’t ruled out returning to Kansas for another season, but it’s too early in the process to say how likely might be.
“It was really just about taking this opportunity and knowing that he would learn from it,” Richard Furphy said. “If it’s this year (for the draft) or next year or future years, it didn’t matter.”
Self’s KU team currently has 12 scholarship players, not counting Furphy, on its roster. Kansas is set to lose one scholarship either this year or next due to self-imposed sanctions from the IARP case.
Ultimately, there isn’t just one reason why Furphy might decide to remain in the draft or or opt to withdraw. For now, for instance, there’s no indication that he’d return to school if he isn’t a likely first-round pick.
“It’s a lot about fit as much as it is a number — maybe more so,” Richard said. “We haven’t really had any feedback on what its looking like, so its too early to say on how the decision will get made.”
