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Kansas' Ochai Agbaji Declares for NBA Draft After Winning NCAA Title, Final Four MOP
April 24, 2022
Ochai Agbaji completed his senior season with the Kansas Jayhawks by winning a national championship and being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Now, Agbaji is ready to transition to the next level, as he announced Sunday that he is declaring for the 2022 NBA draft:
Agbaji is the fourth Kansas player to declare for the draft, joining David McCormack, Jalen Wilson and Christian Braun. Last year's Jayhawks team was unique in today's era of college basketball, as it wasn't led by a star one-and-done freshman.
After taking the reins as Kansas' lead offensive option, Agbaji's numbers increased across the board last season. He averaged 18.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range.
Agbaji was named Big 12 Player of the Year, as well as a consensus 2022 All-American and a finalist for both the Naismith Award and Wooden Award. He scored 12 points in Kansas' 72-69 national championship victory over North Carolina.
The Kansas City, Missouri, native is projected as a lottery pick in this year's class. B/R's Jonathan Wasserman has him pegged to be selected No. 14 overall in his most recent mock draft.
"Scouts have bought in to Agbaji's breakout and shooting growth (103 three-pointers, 40.7 percent)," Wasserman wrote. "And though he still doesn't project as a creator, his explosive finishing, bankable three-ball and defensive tools point to sure-thing contributions."
As a four-year college player, Agbaji will surely stand out from the rest of the prospects in this year's draft, which is sure to be dominated by underclassmen.