Where does Kansas rank following Johnny Furphy’s decision to remain in NBA Draft?

Kansas remained the No. 1 team in the country in ESPN.com’s preseason men’s college basketball Top 25 Thursday — a day after freshman shooting guard Johnny Furphy announced his decision to keep his name in the in the 2024 NBA Draft.

However …

“There is a legitimate debate for No. 1,” ESPN.com analyst Jeff Borzello wrote Thursday after releasing the latest edition of his “Way-Too-Early Top 25.”

“Kansas looked to be head-and-shoulders above the rest of the country after Hunter Dickinson returned, but deadline day decisions from Alabama’s Mark Sears and UConn’s Alex Karaban to withdraw from the draft — as well as Furphy choosing to remain in the draft — has narrowed the gap.

“We’re sticking with the Jayhawks at the top spot for now — they have the fewest question marks on paper — but there’s still a handful of notable players left in the portal and five months until the season tips off,” Borzello added.

Five AP All-America selections — Dickinson, Sears, Caleb Love (Arizona), RJ Davis (North Carolina) and Johni Broome (Auburn) — all have decided to maintain college eligibility for another season. Honorable mention All-America players electing to return to college: L.J. Cryer (Houston), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), Great Osobor (Washington) and Braden Smith (Purdue).

Previously ranked No. 6, Alabama improved four slots to check in at No. 2 in the ESPN.com poll. UConn improved four spots and claimed the No. 3 ranking followed by Houston, Gonzaga, Baylor, Iowa State, Duke, Arizona and North Carolina in the top 10.

Starting at No. 11 is Auburn, followed by Texas A&M, Tennessee, Creighton, Purdue, Arkansas, Marquette, Indiana, Cincinnati, Florida, UCLA, Mississippi, Texas Tech, Xavier and Rutgers. Teams listed as “next in line” were Texas, Maryland, Ohio State, Kentucky and Oregon.

Of KU, Borzello wrote: “After entering 2023-24 ranked No. 1, Bill Self had one of his most disappointing seasons since taking over in Lawrence. He has clearly taken that to heart and has answered questions with the most loaded roster in the country. He went into the portal and landed AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama); then, All-America big man Hunter Dickinson opted to return for another year. Labaron Philon and Riley Kugel decommitting shouldn’t impact KU’s ceiling too much. It’s not a lock that Self and the Jayhawks are done adding to the roster, either.”

Borzello projects a starting lineup of newcomers Mayo and Storr with returnees Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris.

CBSSports.com updates its poll

Furphy’s decision to be a one-and-done college player also did not affect KU’s placement in CBSSports.com’s updated preseason “Top 25 and One.”

Alabama improved seven slots to take over the No. 2 spot, followed by Houston, North Carolina, UConn, Iowa State, Baylor, Gonzaga, Duke, Auburn, Texas A&M, Purdue, Tennessee, Ohio State, Arkansas, Arizona, Marquette, Indiana, UCLA, Creighton, Florida, Texas, Rutgers, Xavier, Cincinnati and Providence.

Of KU, analyst Gary Parrish wrote: “This ranking is based on Bill Self’s Jayhawks returning three of the top six scorers — specifically Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris — from a team that secured a No. 4 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The additions of AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen and Zeke Mayo from the transfer portal, plus two top-50 high school prospects, will give Kansas the type of depth it lacked during this past season that was derailed by Kevin McCullar’s lack of availability.”

SI.com bemoans loss of Furphy

SI.com’s Kevin Sweeney listed Kansas as one of the “losers” following Wednesday’s deadline to withdraw from the draft if one wished to retain collegiate eligibility.

Sweeney wrote: “It always seemed like a long shot Kansas would retain talented freshman wing Johnny Furphy, but the Jayhawks were one of the few teams not to hold onto its stay-or-go pieces on decision day. Furphy’s stock seems to bounce somewhere between mid-to-late first round and early second round, but his meteoric rise as a prospect from playing in high school events last summer to being sure of his name being called on draft night this year is remarkable. Kansas, for what it’s worth, is still well-positioned with wing adds like Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr.”

Katz ranks KU second behind Alabama

NCAA.com’s Andy Katz has KU at No. 2 in his preseason Top 36.

Alabama is No. 1, followed by Kansas, Gonzaga, Houston, UConn, Iowa State, Baylor, North Carolina, Duke and Purdue in the top 10.

Auburn is No. 11, followed by Indiana, Arkansas, Ohio State, Marquette, Creighton, Florida, UCLA, Rutgers, Kentucky, Arizona, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Xavier and Texas at 25.

Nos. 26-36: Texas A&M, Illinois, Providence, Oregon, Michigan State, Texas Tech, Virginia, San Diego State, Clemson, N.C. State and Memphis.

Of KU, Katz wrote: “The Jayhawks were determined to get back to title relevancy after injuries derailed their chase last season. Getting Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris back ensured KU was going to be in the hunt. But then adding AJ Storr, Zeke Mayo and Rylan Griffen pushed the Jayhawks into the top three.”