The Kansas Jayhawks signed small forward Johnny Furphy, the team announced Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The 6-foot-8 incoming freshman joins Kansas from Melbourne, Australia.
- Furphy, out of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Australia, reclassified for the 2023 class after garnering attention at the NBA Academy games in the U.S. in early July.
- Furphy averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 12 games this year with CoE, shooting 39.3 percent from 3-point range.
What they’re saying
“Johnny is a youngster that we saw in person for the first time at the NBA Academy Development camp in Atlanta during the July period, and then we saw him multiple times the next week in Las Vegas,” Kansas coach Bill Self said in a statement. “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.
“He’s been well trained at the Center of Excellence in Australia. 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.”
(Photo: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)
