Kansas
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self addresses Johnny Furphy’s future, and Riley Kugel’s
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self reflects on season, Gonzaga loss
Check out what Kansas basketball coach Bill Self had to say recently after the Jayhawks’ season ended with a NCAA tournament loss against Gonzaga.
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self provided an offseason update Monday, in an interview with Andy Katz.
The interview, which ran on the NCAA March Madness account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, addressed a number of topics. Self once again highlighted how good the Jayhawks were this past season when healthy, especially during non-conference play. He once again highlighted how they just didn’t perform well enough in Big 12 Conference play, especially due to a lack of depth and the injury to Kevin McCullar Jr.
But Self also looked to his team’s future. He talked about the roster outlook, both who’s returning and who’s coming in. He talked about what he thinks about his team’s schedule.
How Kansas basketball’s roster looks next season after transfer portal, recruiting
NBA draft combine has invited Kansas basketball’s Johnny Furphy, Kevin McCullar Jr.
Here are some takeaways from what he had to say:
Bill Self outlines Johnny Furphy is likely to remain in NBA draft
Self has three of his starters back in Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. He also has some other players set to return who he expects jumps from, including Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell and Zach Clemence. But Self noted chances are Johnny Furphy is going to remain in the NBA draft.
Furphy was just a freshman this past season, but he enjoyed a campaign that exceeded expectations. It propelled him into the NBA draft discussion. He eventually earned an invite to the NBA combine.
It’s unclear if Riley Kugel will come to Kansas
Kansas has a transfer class that, as of Monday, has signed three players. Those are Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), Rylan Griffen (Alabama) and AJ Storr (Wisconsin). But it also has Riley Kugel (Florida) committed.
Self noted it’s unclear if Kugel will make it to Kansas. Self didn’t explain why, but if it comes to fruition that would leave a spot open to fill. Kugel would provide the Jayhawks with a talented guard who would compete for minutes.
Here’s how Hunter Dickinson can take the next step
Dickinson was Kansas’ All-American center this past season, but Self does think there’s room for growth. Self highlighted doing more athletically and guarding ball screens better. Self mentioned he thinks Dickinson can be a more consistent 3-point shooter.
Here’s where AJ Storr can improve
Storr was a highly sought-after player in the transfer portal, and is someone Self believes can score and be someone late in the shot clock who can go get a basket. The latter is something Self thinks Kansas missed this past season. But Self also thinks Storr can be more engaged defensively, and added there’s no reason Storr can’t be a great defender and rebounder.
Kansas’ Big 12 schedule will include 20 games
The Big 12 schedule is increasing from 18 games last season to 20 this upcoming season, according to Self, as the league is also set to add Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to the conference. It’s something Self believes will be challenging. Self acknowledged he could be missing someone, but he mentioned Kansas, Houston, Iowa State and Baylor all have a case to be top-five teams in the preseason.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
Kansas
Kansas tornado count of 40 this year surpasses 2023 total
By AJ DOME Kansas Reflector
MANHATTAN — The number of tornadoes in Kansas to date has surpassed last year’s amount.
So far, 40 tornadoes have touched down in the state. For 2023, a total of 39 tornadoes were reported across Kansas.
Kansas State University assistant state climatologist Matt Sittel wrote in his April climate summary that 37 tornadoes were reported that month across the state. In his May 1-7 summary, Sittel said three more tornadoes were reported in the first week of this month.
A tornado was reported in Kearny County in southwest Kansas on May 3. Two more tornadoes were noted on May 6, one in Riley County and one in Chautauqua County. No injuries were reported with those three twisters.
Sittel said April was an “active month” for severe weather, with a total of 37 tornado reports, 14 of those on April 27.
The strongest tornado to strike Kansas so far this year was April 30 in Westmoreland. The Pottawatomie County community was hit by an EF-3 tornado, with winds estimated at 140 mph. Ann Miller, 58, died when her home was destroyed by the storm. She was a lifelong Pottawatomie County resident and long-time employee of the county health department.
The Westmoreland twister destroyed 22 homes and damaged several other structures, including the Pottawatomie County noxious weed building and two of the county public works department’s three-sided sheds. Recycling in Pottawatomie County was suspended because of storm damage, and most of the county’s chemical sprayers were mangled. The chemicals themselves were spared. Additionally, the extension office building lost some windows and part of its roof, and at least 30 county vehicles were damaged.
Westmoreland city officials said they were working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Association and insurance companies to determine a loss total from the April 30 storm. City council president Wade Purvis said during a May 9 meeting that the cleanup stage is “essentially over” and the recovery phase is underway.
Sittel said other modes of severe weather were observed in April, including a report of a three-inch hailstone April 25 in Sherman County. In total, 104 hail reports were tallied for the month, including 32 on April 25.
Two days later saw the highest number of high wind reports at 24. The fastest wind gust happened on April 18, when an anemometer recorded an 87 mph gust in Saint Marys.
For the first week of May, 74 reports of hail greater than one inch were tallied. Three-inch-sized hailstones fell on both May 1 and May 6. The largest stone measured 4.5 inches and fell in Gove County on May 1. The highest wind gust was also measured on May 1. A Kansas Mesonet instrument tower five miles north of Plainville in Rooks County recorded an 83 mph gust. No damage was reported with the peak gust.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service office in Dodge City are forecasting the potential for scattered thunderstorms across the southwestern portion of the state through the end of the week. Temperatures may also rise to 90 degrees across parts of Kansas on Monday because of increased moisture in the region.
NWS Dodge City scientists wrote in their forecast discussion Tuesday that next week is the “stormiest time of year climatologically” for central and southwest Kansas. The last 10 days of May are traditionally the peak of the severe weather season, which can extend into June.
Kansas
Jáder Obrian scores 2 goals, Austin beats Sporting Kansas City 3-2
AUSTIN, Texas — Jáder Obrian scored two goals, Sebastián Driussi added another goal and Austin FC beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 Saturday night.
Obrian’s second goal gave Austin (6-4-4) the lead for the good in the 39th minute. Dani Pereira played an entry to near the penalty spot where Obrian cut back to evade a defender an slipped a shot in side the post to make it 2-1.
Kansas City (2-6-5) is winless in seven consecutive games since it beat Toronto FC 3-1 on March 30. Sporting have conceded at least one goal in 10 straight matches and allowed multiple goals in eight games during that span.
Johnny Russell ran onto a pass from Alan Pulido and tapped in a side-footer, his first goal of the season, to give Sporting a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. The 34-year-old has 57 regular season goals for Kansas City, tied with Dom Dwyer for second most in club history.
Melia attempted to clear the ball but Pereira stole it and immediately for Obrian for the finish from near the right corner of the 6-yard box to make it 1-1 in the 29th.
Sebastián Driussi scored just moments into the second half to make it 3-1 before 22-year-old Jake Davis netted his second MLS goal to cap the scoring in the 63rd minute.
Kansas City had 54% possession and outshot Austin 17-12.
Brad Stuver finished with one save for Austin.
Tim Melia had four saves for Sporting.
Kansas
Sporting Kansas City vs Austin FC Match Thread
Time: 7:30 pm CST
Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
How to Watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass
Referee: Sergii Boiko
The Teams
Sporting Kansas City
2-5-5, 11 points
13th in the West
Head Coach: Peter Vermes (16th season)
Injury Report: OUT: Logan Ndenbe (knee), OUT: Kayden Pierre (ankle), QUESTIONABLE: Dany Rosero (quad), QUESTIONABLE: Remi Walter (knee)
Austin FC
5-4-4, 19 points
6th in the West
Head Coach: Josh Wolff (5th season)
Injury Report: QUESTIONABLE: Guilherme Biro (hamstring), QUESTIONABLE: Ethan Finlay (hamstring)
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