Johnny Furphy, Kevin McCullar, Jr., selected on day two of the NBA Draft

It might have taken longer than expected, but Johnny Furphy, the 6-foot-9, 202-pound guard from Melbourne, Australia, and Kevin McCullar, Jr., the 6-foot-7, 212-pound guard from San Antonio, Texas, were selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Expected to be picked on the opening night of the NBA Draft on Wednesday, Furphy, a 2024 Big 12 All-Freshman, and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, dropped out of the first round and was finally selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 35th overall pick of the NBA Draft late on Thursday afternoon.

Furphy, who averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for Kansas this past season, was traded to the Indiana Pacers shortly thereafter.

“Last night was a very tough and humbling night for Johnny,” KU head coach Bill Self said. “The anticipation of being in the Green Room and the assurance that he and his representation had been told that he would be drafted didn’t turn out that way. It was a tough night and I thought Johnny handled it very maturely and very well, but it was not easy for he or his family.

“For him to come back, get drafted, and find out he is traded to the Pacers is great,” he added. “It’s an up-and-coming franchise. They’ve got really good players. I spoke with them (the Pacers) this morning and they were very excited about Johnny. They ended up trading up a pick to get him. I’m excited for Johnny. I think they will do a great job in developing him. Johnny knows that he needs time to improve his strength for the NBA game. I think it’s a good landing place for him.”

Not long ago, both Furphy and McCullar, Jr., were projected to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. At one point last season, both were viewed as Lottery picks and, at the time, dropping to the second round wasn’t even discussed as a possibility for Furphy or McCullar.

While Furphy was expected to be selected in the first round on Wednesday night, McCullar, Jr., due to his injury this past season, was locked into the second round on Thursday. With the draft nearing its end, McCullar, Jr., was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 56th overall pick and was eventually traded to the New York Knicks.

“Kevin is a first-round player and I think anybody that saw him healthy this year would agree to that,” Self said. “Kevin will play in the league for a long time and the Knicks got one of the toughest players we have had in our program. We are all excited that Kevin heard his name called. He will be a great fit for a playoff team and such a storied franchise.

“Unfortunately, Kevin got injured at the end of January wasn’t the same the rest of the season, and had a setback after the season as well,” he added. “He wants it bad and he will respond. He will do well in New York.”

With Furphy headed to Indiana and McCullar, Jr., off the New York, Kansas now has 89 all-time NBA Draft selections, including 31 in the Self era. Since the NBA adopted a two-round draft in 1989, Kansas has had 29 first-round selections and 44 total draft picks.

Before making his way to Kansas, Furphy played prep basketball for Centre of Excellence (CoE) – Australia’s development program hosted at the Australian Institute of Sport alongside NBA Global Academy. A member of the 2024 class, Furphy ultimately reclassified to the 2023 class and garnered attention when he participated in various NBA Academy events in the United States. Additionally, Furphy played for Victoria at the 2023 Australia-U20 Championship.

McCullar, Jr., who made the move to Kansas following a successful run at Texas Tech, was a 2024 All-America Honorable Mention and All-Big 12 First Team selection Additionally, he led the conference in scoring in 2023-24 with an 18.3 points per game average. McCullar, Jr., was a 2024 finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award and, including 2023-24, was a three-time semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

During his final season at Kansas, McCullar posted back-to-back triple-doubles, which were the third and fourth in Kansas history and the first time in NCAA history since the 2007-08 season.

McCullar, Jr., who graduated from Kansas in May 2023, concluded his career with 217 steals, which ranks 11th on the Big 12 career steals records list. He finished with 1,517 points, 745 rebounds, 338 assists, and 217 steals with three seasons at Texas Tech (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22) and the last two at Kansas (2022-23, 2023-24).