New KU basketball small forward Johnny Furphy working out with NBL team in Australia
Australian basketball sensation Johnny Furphy, who signed a national letter of intent with Kansas on Aug. 3, has been working out with a pro team in Australia — the South East Melbourne Phoenix — prior to starting school in Lawrence on Aug. 21.
“We’ll look after him until he gets there @KUHoops,” the Phoenix team posted on Twitter earlier this week.
Furphy, a 6-foot-8, 202-pound guard/small forward from Melbourne, Australia, who became a big-time college recruit by starring in various NBA Academy events this summer in the U.S., says he’s learning a lot playing with the Phoenix.
“This is the first time I trained with an NBL (National Basketball League) team. It’s something I wanted to do for a while,” Furphy told team communications manager Aaron Pereira in an article on the Phoenix official website. The headline on the article referred to the newest Jayhawk as a “wunderkind.”
“I think it’s something that’s going to be really valuable, just kind of playing against bigger, older bodies, professionals. It will be great for my basketball,” the 18-year-old Furphy added.
Furphy has more than held his own against older players in Australia.
“Furphy showcased his wares, stunning the squad with a mammoth dunk that sent a thud around the State Basketball Centre,” Pereira wrote following a recent practice.
Furphy has the goal of someday playing for Australia’s national men’s basketball team, known as the Australian Boomers.
“That would be a dream come true, representing Australia and just playing professionally,” he said of perhaps being reunited with some of the pros he’s been working out with of late. “Short term, I’d like to get acclimated to college basketball. It’s going to be a big adjustment, but I’m just so excited and grateful to go.”
Of KU, he told the Phoenix Website communications director: “I’ve heard (KU) is a good place, a good family culture. I’m excited to see what it’s like, but I don’t really know much about it.”
Furphy committed to KU over Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga and others without taking a campus visit.
He explained his decision to exit the recruiting class of 2024 for the class of ’23 and start college in August. Furphy previously has played for Centre of Excellence (CoE), Basketball Australia’s development program hosted at the Australian Institute of Sport alongside NBA Global Academy.
“When I announced I was committing to the University of Kansas, I kind of wanted to go to college next year (2024-25),” Furphy said. “I planned to go to college next year but I went over to the States to play a few tournaments and developed a little bit of interest and got the opportunity to go to college this year. I made that decision. It made the most sense for my development. I felt it was the best situation. I’ve been pretty busy the last two months. I’m just happy about the decision.”
He is a Philadelphia 76ers fan, an NBA team led by former Jayhawk Joel Embiid.
“Someone I really modeled my game on is Mikal Bridges,” he told Pereira, referring to the Brooklyn Nets guard. “I think there are some similarities there.”
The Nets are coached by former KU guard Jacque Vaughn.
Playing for CoE, Furphy averaged 14.3 points and was 22 for 56 (39.3%) from 3 during the 2022-23 season. He averaged 5.6 rebounds in 12 games. Playing for Victoria at the 2023 Australia Under-20 Championship, Furphy averaged 13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in six games. He hit 38.5% of his 3s.
South East Melbourne Phoenix CEO Tommy Greer spoke in glowing terms regarding Furphy in quotes provided to The Star.
“Johnny is becoming an incredibly dynamic player, and his wingspan makes him a threat on both ends of the floor. Training with professional athletes will accelerate his growth as a player and it’s been great to see him enjoying the physicality of this level,” Greer stated.
“Johnny is a great Australian basketball talent already at such a young age. He’s got a will to win, a great work ethic and an eagerness to learn. It was great to see him at the Phoenix for a few sessions while he preps for college and hope to see him back in our colors again one day.”
With the Phoenix, Furphy has been working closely with coach Mike Kelly and players Rhys Vague and Mitch Creek.
KU coach Bill Self fully expects Furphy, who turns 19 on Dec. 7, to be a big contributor on this year’s team.
“Positively,” Self said, asked by the Star if Furphy figures to be in the rotation. “We recruited him to play that. Also we’ve only got 10 guys on scholarship (prior to signing Furphy). If you redshirt one or two of them, whoever that is, I don’t think it’ll be that hard to be part of the rotation.”
Self said Furphy “is a guard. The way we play it doesn’t matter. He can play one of four spots.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 5:15 AM.
