Here’s how former Kansas Jayhawk Johnny Furphy is faring at Indiana Pacers camp

Former Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball guard Johnny Furphy has been slowed by minor injuries to both of his ankles during the opening days of his first Indiana Pacers training camp.

According to SI.com, Furphy — the 6-foot-9, 200-pound 19-year-old native of Melbourne, Australia — did not practice on Wednesday, the third day of NBA preseason camp. The team had a day off Thursday and was to resume practice Friday, with the Pacers’ first game of the 2024-25 preseason set for Tuesday at Atlanta.

“Furphy’s had a little bit of bad luck. He had an ankle thing and then today he tweaked the other ankle,” coach Rick Carlisle on Wednesday told media covering the Pacers. “So he’s been a little in and out of it.”

Reporter Tony East of SI.com wrote: “During the portion of Pacers practice Wednesday that was visible to reporters, Furphy was the only player that could not be spotted. He was seen earlier this week and his shooting and movement are one of the early sources of intrigue for Indiana this season.”

Furphy averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds a game for the Pacers’ summer league team in June in Las Vegas.

The second-round 2024 NBA Draft pick (No. 35 overall) played well enough for some to suggest he might be able to earn some meaningful minutes during the regular season for the Eastern Conference finalists.

The Pacers appear to have an established rotation with few, if any, possible openings.

“Furphy still needs to add some strength and there’s not a clean path to playing time available for him with Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith back to start at shooting guard and small forward, Ben Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin both back to play wing positions and the power forward spot stacked with Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin,” wrote Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star at the end of summer league.

“Jarace Walker, drafted No. 8 overall in the 2023 draft, can also play both forward spots and there’s no guarantee even he will have a rotation spot. However, the Pacers have a need for a movement shooter and Furphy could get at least some minutes this season, even if he also spends some time on G League assignments. He doesn’t seem far away from being an impact player,” Dopirak added.

Furphy — he recently signed a 4-year, $8,589,485 contract including $6,102,490 guaranteed (club option in 2027-28), and an average annual salary of $2,147,371 — said he planned on being a “sponge” soaking in information from veteran players his rookie campaign.

“I think it’s similar to me heading into Kansas,” he said on The Paceroos Podcast. “I dont want to set a benchmark for myself. I’ll try to go in and slowly establish myself, which is something I’ve kind of done every team I’ve been on, learning different ways to gain confidence and trust of teammates, learning from the older guys, seeing how they are. I don’t want to put crazy expectations on anything, going into the NBA thinking I want to do this or that. I’ll learn and enjoy it. I think going in with that perspective will help me,” Furphy added.

He noted that he’s already “beginning to learn how to be a professional. This is something I wanted to do my entire life. Now I have just one thing to worry about, playing basketball. I’m excited to go all in, try to improve myself every day, putting in preparation. I know the opportunity will come. I have to be as ready as possible when it comes.”

Furphy acknowledged he’s extra motivated after a tough 2024 NBA Draft experience. Invited to the green room for likely lottery picks, he was not selected during round one, held June 26 in Brooklyn, New York. Because of a new draft format that spread the event over two days, he had to wait until the following afternoon to learn he’d been taken by Indiana.

“I’m walking into this with a bit of chip on my shoulder now,” Furphy said during the podcast interview. “I’ve been through that, having had my eyes a bit more opened walking into things. I think it’s worked out for the better (going to Indiana).”

Still ...

”It was definitely a big shock, not how anyone anticipated it going,” he said. “That was part of the reason I left college, because I had such great feedback from NBA teams. My family and agents felt super confident where I was sitting (heading into the draft).

“It was a bit of a crazy night. I don’t really know exactly why it happened. There were cascading events, me not working out with teams (that picked) later in the first round. Honestly I’ve not given too much thought to the reason behind it, taking it on the chin, but being fortunate enough to be taken where I was. The two nights were crazy to handle. Normally I’d have waited five minutes and been picked. This year having to go back to the hotel and digest and reflect on what happened is something I’ll remember a long time.”