NBA draft projections post-combine: Kansas basketball’s Johnny Furphy, Kevin McCullar Jr.
LAWRENCE — With the NBA draft combine wrapping up earlier this month, comes a new landscape to analyze for Kansas basketball standouts Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar Jr.
Furphy, who has yet to announce if he’s staying in the draft this year or not, enjoyed a breakout campaign as a freshman guard with the Jayhawks. This past season, he emerged as one of head coach Bill Self’s starters. Not only does he bring enviable size and athleticism to the equation, but he’s a talented 3-point shooter and still has a lot of room to grow.
McCullar, who is embarking on his professional career, struggled to stay healthy toward the end of his graduate senior season with the Jayhawks and is still making his way back from injury. However, he was still one of the best players at the college level this past season. The guard advanced as an offensive talent from the 2022-23 season to the 2023-24 season, while remaining one of the most proficient defenders in the nation.
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Ahead of the NBA draft in late June, here’s a look at where Furphy and McCullar could end up — according to a few recent mock drafts:
Johnny Furphy
CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein: 1st round, 18th overall
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman: 2nd round, 34th overall
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: 1st round, 18th overall
Furphy’s measurements at the NBA combine included 8.00 inches for hand length, 9.50 inches for hand width, 6 feet and 7.50 inches for height without shoes, 8 feet and 8.50 inches for standing reach, 188.8 pounds for weight and 6 feet and 8.00 inches for wingspan.
Furphy also recorded a lane agility time of 11.15 seconds, shuttle run of 3.17 seconds, three-quarter sprint of 3.20 seconds, standing vertical leap of 25.5 inches and max vertical leap up 32.0 inches.
Kevin McCullar Jr.
CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein: 1st round 24th overall
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman: 2nd round, 35th overall
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: 1st round, 23rd overall
McCullar’s measurements at the NBA combine included 8.75 inches for hand length, 9.50 inches for hand width, 6 feet and 5.25 inches for height without shoes, 8 feet and 7.00 inches for standing reach, 205.8 pounds for weight and 6 feet and 9.00 inches for wingspan.
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: Check out NBA draft projections for Johnny Furphy, Kevin McCullar Jr.