Kansas January Player of the Month: Johnny Furphy

The freshman from Australia has made an impact since joining the starting five.

The third month of college basketball action is in the books, which means it’s time for our Kansas player of the month. Hunter Dickinson took away the prize in the season’s opening month while Kevin McCullar stepped up in December. Kansas had an up and down month of January, going five and three to start conference play, and when the month began, it was a tossup as to who would become our player of the month. 

But Johnny Furphy became a starter on January 13 against Oklahoma and has provided a much needed spark for the Kansas basketball team, providing a lift that could help boost KU’s chances in the postseason, so he is our POM for January.

Furphy had a pretty nondescript start to the new year. In the game where Kansas scraped by TCU in the conference opener in Lawrence, the Australian only took two shots (both from three), making one and adding a free throw. He finished that initial January game with just four points and three rebounds.

Then came the debacle at UCF. Furphy had a decent game in that one, making four of eight from the field, but only one of four from beyond the three point line, for a total of nine points and four rebounds. But after that game, things changed. Bill Self knew that something had to be done to maximize KU’s potential, and three days later Furphy was inserted into the starting lineup against Oklahoma.

Furphy started off as a spark and finished that game with seven points and three boards, but his energy and presence (he ran the court with abandon, converting on a few fast break opportunities to get the crowd rollicking) in the starting lineup was enough for Self to make the change permanent.

Then, the light switch must’ve come on for the freshman from Melbourne. Against Oklahoma State, Furphy lit up the scoreboard, shooting 83% from the floor and 75% from three (three of four) en route to 15 points and seven rebounds in the blowout of the Cowboys. Again, Furphy started out the game strongly, scoring all of his points in the first twenty minutes. That game was the first of five straight games that Furphy has scored in double figures.

He shot the ball more in KU’s loss to West Virginia, probably out of the need to keep up the scoring pace of the red-hot Mountaineers. Johnny was 4-12 from the floor and 3-9 from three. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. That game in Morgantown also saw Furphy deliver a season high three assists.

But the home game against Cincinnati, the one where his parents made the grueling journey from southeastern Australia all the way to Lawrence to be in attendance, was the game where Furphy had his coming-out party. He scored 23 in the win over the Bearcats, making eight of nine from the floor (three of four from deep) and finished with 11 rebounds.

The games in Ames and at home in the return game against Okie State were also steady for the Australian. He scored 15 in Ames and 11 in Lawrence, grabbing six rebounds against both the Cyclones and Cowboys.

Over the course of January, Furphy has put up nice numbers for the Jayhawks averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds, but he has been statistically even better since taking over the starting role on January 13. In the month’s last six games, Furphy is averaging 14 PPG and 6.7 RPG.

After searching for two and half months for a player to supplement the so-called “Big Four,” Kansas has found its fifth. If Johnny Furphy continues with these kind of numbers, and Kansas can get dependable minutes from Elmarko Jackson and Nick Timberlake, the Jayhawks will be well set up going into the business end of the season.

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