Kansas basketball coach Bill Self reflects on season, Gonzaga loss
Check out what Kansas basketball coach Bill Self had to say recently after the Jayhawks’ season ended with a NCAA tournament loss against Gonzaga.
LAWRENCE — For the third straight year, Kansas basketball saw two of its players selected in the NBA Draft.
This year, Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar Jr. were both selected in the second round. In 2023, Gradey Dick went in the first round and Jalen Wilson was chosen in the second round. Two years ago prior, in 2022, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun were both picked in the first round.
Will the Jayhawks be able to enjoy a similar draft experience in 2025? Time will tell. But there certainly is a lot of talent on KU’s roster for the upcoming season, and that means the potential is there.
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Here are five names to think about when it comes to Kansas and the 2025 NBA draft:
AJ Storr is going to be a junior guard for Kansas, after spending one season each at St. John’s and Wisconsin, and has tested the NBA draft process before. He was one of the best freshmen in the Big East Conference and one of the best players in the Big Ten Conference. He has size and can score, not to mention international experience with the Bahamian national team. If he can improve as a defender and rebounder, he will be in an advantageous situation.
Hunter Dickinson has returned to Kansas for his super-senior season, and the veteran center is doing so with the chance to become an All-American for the third time in his career. His first season at Kansas came after he started his time in college at Michigan. With the Jayhawks, he averaged a double-double and more than a block per game. Standing at 7-foot-2, he could be an intriguing prospect if he can develop more as a shot-blocker and be more of a threat shooting threes.
Dajuan Harris Jr. has established himself as one of the best point guards in college basketball and helped Kansas win one national championship. He was a redshirt senior last season, and the veteran is back for one more year with the Jayhawks. As long as he remains aggressive offensively, and takes enough treys to make sure defenses have to respect his ability to make them, his abilities as a passer and defender could earn him a chance with a NBA organization.
KJ Adams Jr. was on that national championship team with Harris back in 2022, and he’ll be a senior forward for Kansas this upcoming season. He’s versatile and skilled enough that he can play multiple roles, and during the 2022-23 season played the five-spot while standing just 6-foot-7 for the Big 12’s regular-season champion. Adams can score — he’s on his way to reaching 1,000 career points with the Jayhawks — but he’ll need to expand his range as a shooter to give himself the best chance at the next level.
Zeke Mayo will be a senior guard for Kansas after transferring in from South Dakota State, where he started his career. He will have to make the jump up from Summit League competition to Big 12 competition, but the Lawrence native is also joining the Jayhawks after being named Summit player of the year on an NCAA Tournament team. If he can acclimate well, earn a substantial role and keep being a lethal shooter, he could grab someone’s attention.
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.
