Incoming Jayhawks guard AJ Storr explains why he chose Kansas over the NBA Draft

AJ Storr had heard a lot of stories about playing for Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self before committing to the Jayhawks in April.

Now, the former Wisconsin and St. John’s guard will experience Self’s coaching firsthand. An incoming KU transfer, Storr moved to Lawrence on Saturday.

“He (Self) is going to get the best out of you,” Storr said Sunday. “He’s going to challenge you. He can always motivate you to be the best version of yourself.

Storr said his choice — picking a year with the Jayhawks over possible entry into the 2024 NBA Draft — came down to KU’s history of winning.

Self’s two national championships were a major piece of that. And now Storr is learning even more about the historic traditions of the KU program.

“I didn’t even know that basketball originated here,” Storr said. “I (saw) Naismith Drive — I was like, ‘Man, I didn’t know that.’ Just the culture of KU, that’s what stood out to me the most.”

Kansas actually recruited Storr back when he was in high school at IMG Academy in Florida. But he chose St. John’s at the time (and later transferred to Wisconsin).

He explained KU’s pitch to him this time around.

“Really, it was just, ‘Come here ready to win,’” he recalled. “They ended up losing last year and I think they wanted to go further. I mean, any team would want to go further than that. So just come here ready to play and contend for a national championship.”

Storr averaged 16.9 points and 3.9 assists per game last season while earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. He believes he brings solid experience, a valuable skill-set and a general willingness to be coached to Self’s program after playing at both St. John’s and Wisconsin.

“Everybody has different styles of play, different systems,” Storr said, “but (I’ve) pretty much played against them all, or played for them.”

Storr spent much of March and April participating in the NBA Draft before joining the Jayhawks. He said he was relatively close to staying in the draft until he decided Kansas was a better spot for him.

Although he wasn’t in the draft process the entire time, he said he received ample feedback from NBA evaluators:

“’Just to go back there (to college)‘ — they love winning players. So KU is obviously a winning program and coming here, I’m going to be a winning player.”

Storr is having a busy offseason, working on his ball-handling and shot consistency. He’s also committed to getting in better shape and becoming more flexible.

Now, his primary focus is on building chemistry with his new Jayhawks teammates.

“I’m just now getting familiar with the guys, but so far they’re welcoming me in (with) open arms,” he said. “Very funny dudes, easy to get along with.”