Johnny Furphy , Kevin McCullar Taken in Second Round of NBA Draft

Two Jayhawks went off the board in day two of the NBA's annual draft.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Johnny Furphy arrives before the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Two former Kansas Jayhawks now have their first professional homes. San Antonio selected freshman Johnny Furphy with the No. 35 pick and then sent to Indiana, while Kevin McCullar was taken by the Phoenix Suns at pick No. 56 before being sent to the New York Knicks.

Furphy's selection came after a tough first day that went from him being invited to the draft's green room and was mocked in the top 20 by many – looking to justify Furphy's difficult decision to stay in the NBA Draft rather than come back for another year at Kansas – to not hearing his name called in the first round.

Indiana is a team on the rise, making a run in the playoffs while leading the league in points per game and field-goal percentage last season. And coming in as potential small forward, Furphy fills a need as a wing who can shoot, which is something the Pacers lack with Aaron Nesmith.

Furphy not only has the size – he's 6-9, 202 – and skills of an NBA wing, but he's shown the upside at times that made him a draft hopeful to begin with. The freshman started his season at KU coming off the bench but ended up starting 19 of the Jayhawks' 33 games, averaging nine points and 4.9 rebounds. With Kevin McCullar dealing with a knee injury, Furphy went on a stretch where he put up 11 double-digit performances in a 12-game span during the Big 12 slate.

Furphy shot 36% from three on the season and 67% from inside the arc. He made a name for himself in the Big 12 as an efficient scorer. His 64.4% true shooting percentage was second in the conference and his 126.3 offensive rating was fifth best in the league.

Meanwhile, McCullar began his final season playing at an All-American pace through non-conference play before a knee injury derailed his season. McCullar finished playing in 26 games and averaging 18.3 points (his career high by eight points), six rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Both players showed impressive transformations in a short amount of time. It's an incredible jump from Furphy initially being a 2024 high school recruit to a late summer addition to Kansas (after reclassifying) to now a second-round draft pick. And McCullar was the 135th-ranked player out of high school and seen as more of a solid college player and great defender at Texas Tech before coming to Lawrence.