Kansas' Furphy staying in NBA draft

Kansas wing Johnny Furphy is staying in this year's NBA draft, he announced Wednesday on social media.

Players had until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET to remove their name from the draft and return to school.

Furphy is the 18th-ranked prospect on ESPN's draft projections.

The 6-foot-9 Aussie averaged nine points, 4.9 boards, and one assist across 33 appearances during his lone year with the Jayhawks. He also shot 35.2% from deep and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.

"We appreciate his contributions in the year that we had him," Kansas head coach Bill Self said in a statement. "He has matured and accelerated at a very quick pace as a player during the past year.

"We understand and support Johnny's decision. ... We should all be excited for him and look forward to following his progress as an NBA player."

The Jayhawks are poised to contend in the Big 12 despite losing Furphy to the NBA.

Star center Hunter Dickinson is returning for a fifth year, while Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr are both joining the program via the transfer portal.