Kansas basketball coach Bill Self addresses Johnny Furphy’s future, and Riley Kugel’s
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self provided an offseason update Monday, in an interview with Andy Katz.
The interview, which ran on the NCAA March Madness account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, addressed a number of topics. Self once again highlighted how good the Jayhawks were this past season when healthy, especially during non-conference play. He once again highlighted how they just didn’t perform well enough in Big 12 Conference play, especially due to a lack of depth and the injury to Kevin McCullar Jr.
But Self also looked to his team’s future. He talked about the roster outlook, both who’s returning and who’s coming in. He talked about what he thinks about his team’s schedule.
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Here are some takeaways from what he had to say:
Bill Self outlines Johnny Furphy is likely to remain in NBA draft
Self has three of his starters back in Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. He also has some other players set to return who he expects jumps from, including Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell and Zach Clemence. But Self noted chances are Johnny Furphy is going to remain in the NBA draft.
Furphy was just a freshman this past season, but he enjoyed a campaign that exceeded expectations. It propelled him into the NBA draft discussion. He eventually earned an invite to the NBA combine.
It’s unclear if Riley Kugel will come to Kansas
Kansas has a transfer class that, as of Monday, has signed three players. Those are Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), Rylan Griffen (Alabama) and AJ Storr (Wisconsin). But it also has Riley Kugel (Florida) committed.
Self noted it’s unclear if Kugel will make it to Kansas. Self didn’t explain why, but if it comes to fruition that would leave a spot open to fill. Kugel would provide the Jayhawks with a talented guard who would compete for minutes.
Here’s how Hunter Dickinson can take the next step
Dickinson was Kansas’ All-American center this past season, but Self does think there’s room for growth. Self highlighted doing more athletically and guarding ball screens better. Self mentioned he thinks Dickinson can be a more consistent 3-point shooter.
Here’s where AJ Storr can improve
Storr was a highly sought-after player in the transfer portal, and is someone Self believes can score and be someone late in the shot clock who can go get a basket. The latter is something Self thinks Kansas missed this past season. But Self also thinks Storr can be more engaged defensively, and added there’s no reason Storr can’t be a great defender and rebounder.
Kansas’ Big 12 schedule will include 20 games
The Big 12 schedule is increasing from 18 games last season to 20 this upcoming season, according to Self, as the league is also set to add Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to the conference. It’s something Self believes will be challenging. Self acknowledged he could be missing someone, but he mentioned Kansas, Houston, Iowa State and Baylor all have a case to be top-five teams in the preseason.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Will Johnny Furphy return to Kansas basketball next season or go pro?
