Johnny Furphy this time last year received a scholarship offer, from Sacramento State, to play college basketball.
Due to his December birth date, Australian-born Furphy wasn’t even sure he would enroll in college for the 2023-24 season. He thought he might spend another year at the Australian Center for Excellence, an elite academy in Canberra, and then explore university or career possibilities.
But a 2023 summer basketball tour of the United States with the Center for Excellence changed Furphy’s trajectory.
“My coaches sat me down at the beginning of the week,” said Furphy, who turns 20 on Dec. 7. “They said, ‘We’ve seen players in the past really break out in this particular tournament.’ And then I had a really good week and then they sat me down at the end of the week and showed me a list of schools that were interested, which I remember very well. It was like I had to pinch myself. It was pretty crazy.
“Kansas came up to me and said, ‘We have a spot for you this year.’”
Jayhawks coach Bill Self explained to USA Sports TODAY who was looking for a player during the summer recruiting period. He called his contacts and found out about Furphy. One of Self’s assistants, Norm Roberts, saw Furphy play in Atlanta and then Self saw him play in Las Vegas.
He committed to the Jayhawks, “sight unseen,” Furphy said.
“He went from a guy we thought was a prospect when he first got here, and in January we really thought he was a player,” Self said. “And he just played lights out during our conference season. And that’s what excited everyone.”
Furphy is a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft whose draft status continues to rise given his size for a 6-9 shooting guard/small forward. He is the projected 18th pick for Orlando by USA TODAY Sports. Post-NBA Finals Mock Draft. In addition to the Draft Combine in Chicago, Furphy has worked out for seven teams, including several in the No. 9-20 first-round range.
Furphy averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and shot 49.6% from the field, 36.5% on three-pointers and 78.5% on free throws in the Big 12 games. Once he became a starter in late January, he averaged more points and rebounds and shot a better three-point percentage.
“The light went on,” Self said. “We knew it would happen eventually, but we didn’t know it would be so fast and so brilliant. He goes from a guy we hope can be a starter to everyone having him on the NBA draft board in a week.”
Said Furphy: “Coach Self was very excited about me and knew how good I can be. He really saw that potential. Coach Self gave me a chance, let alone let me come to Kansas and then gave me a chance to play, all credit to him.”
Kansas primarily used him as a 3-point shooter (he has a fluid, quick-release jumper) and a cutter to the basket, so developing an off-the-dribble game that includes shooting and playmaking is the focus.
“Everyone would agree with this, his best ball is very close,” Self said. “You look at him and say, ‘God, he’s young.’ But he can run. He has length, he can finish with both hands. And he has range. He has some things that are very attractive to a lot of people.”
Furphy comes from an athletic family. His father, Richard, played professional Australian rules football and her mother, Liza, was an elite jumper. Her sister Holly plays soccer at Santa Clara and his brother Joe is a professional Australian rules football player.
“That was my second sport growing up,” Furphy said. “I stopped playing before I hit my growth spurt, so I never thought about it too seriously. But it was something I told people: if basketball didn’t exist, that would be my sport.”
Since the end of Kansas’ season, Furphy has spent most of his time in Chicago working with coaches and player development specialists.
“Having this routine really feels good to me,” she said. “I pretty much work out every day, I go to the weight room and I have one thing to focus on, and that’s basketball, which I really enjoy a lot.”
Playing in the NBA was Furphy’s goal. It’s just happening a little sooner than he expected. At age 17, he moved from his family home in Melbourne to attend the Center for Excellence. At age 18, he moved from Australia to Lawrence, Kansas, to play for the Jayhawks. At age 19, he moved to Chicago to prepare for his rookie season, and when he turns 20, he will be in an NBA city two months after his rookie season.
The speed with which he went from a scholarship offer to a projected first-round pick is as joyful as it is unexpected.
“The NBA has always been my motivation,” Furphy said. “When I came to Kansas, I really had no expectations. I wasn’t putting pressure on myself. I knew I was so late. I knew it was going to take me time to find my rhythm and get on my feet. It was more of a ‘maybe in a couple of years’. But I didn’t have a set timeline in mind.”