Johnny Furphy, the 6-foot-9, 202-pound guard from Melbourne, Australia, will appear in the first Big 12 game of his young career on Saturday afternoon. No. 2 Kansas plays host to TCU at 1:00 PM (CT) inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Furhpy, while addressing the media on Thursday, talked about a few things he’s focusing on with Big 12 play looming.

“I think just learning not to hesitate and I think just being confident and really just working on defense,” said Furphy on Thursday afternoon. “Just being able to guard these bigger, stronger, athletic bodies.

“Really, just learning not to hesitate and just take chances when they come,” he added.

Furphy, in 12 games this season, is averaging 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Offensively, he’s shooting 47.9 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from behind the arc, and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

While Furphy is just a few months into his college career, he knows the importance of KU’s dominating run in Big 12 play. Kansas will enter conference play having won 17-of-20 Big 12 regular season championships.

“I think one of the biggest things is, it's just an expectation,” said Furphy. “Obviously, we know that it’s going to be a big increase of intensity coming to Big 12 (play), but there’s always just the expectation.”

Not surprisingly, Bill Self and his staff, along with a number of upperclassmen, have had numerous conversations with the likes of Furphy, Elmarko Jackson, and Jamari McDowell to paint a more descriptive picture of what to expect when Big 12 play begins on Saturday.

It’s something Furphy talked about during Thursday’s media session.

“I think the biggest thing would be, the real season starts now,” said Furphy. “We kind of forget about the last 12 or 13 games. The real season starts now and it's going to be a big jump in intensity and this is where game-by-game really matters.”

With Big 12 play set to begin on Saturday, Furhpy is focused on doing whatever it takes to help this Kansas team reach its ultimate goal. As he mentioned above, a big focus during Big 12 play will be not to hesitate when the opportunity to make a play presents itself.

Furphy, on Thursday, talked a little bit about what the process is like.

“Probably just having that mindset of knowing that you’re going to make mistakes,” he said. “You’ve got to get through a rough patch to start seeing results. You know, having a short-term memory is a big thing and just take opportunities as they come.

“Just try not to overthink things,” he added. “Everyone has been very encouraging of me, especially the coaching staff. They want me to be more selfish.”