Kelly Oubre enters NBA draft after one season at Kansas
Even though Kelly Oubre's freshman season at Kansas was bumpier than anticipated, it still ended the way most expected.
The 6-foot-7 forward helped the Jayhawks win another Big 12 championship before announcing Wednesday that he will enter the NBA draft.
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"This is an opportunity to play against the best in the world and expand my game in hopes of someday becoming one of those great players," Oubre said. "It's been a great year. I've been blessed to be here at the University of Kansas. I was blessed to go through the things that I went through and I was blessed to play for coach [Bill Self]. He taught me a lot this year, the little things that will help out my game a lot."
Oubre arrived at Kansas as one of the nation's most highly touted incoming freshmen, but it took a while for him to even crack the Jayhawks' rotation. In Kansas' first seven games, he logged an average of 8.2 minutes and scored an average of 2.2 points per game.
His role eventually increased as the season went along and he gained Self's trust. He became a fixture in the Kansas starting lineup during Big 12 play, making an impact with his wingspan, slashing ability and outside shooting and scoring in double figures 11 times in 18 league games.
Oubre projects as a mid-first-round draft pick with a chance to even crack the lottery because of his many physical gifts. It may take him some time to become an impact player at the NBA level, but he has the size, wingspan and athleticism to become a prototypical NBA small forward.
The adversity Oubre endured early in his Kansas career helped him as the season went along and almost certainly will help him again should he have a similar experience as a NBA rookie.
Kansas is well-stocked at wing for next season despite Oubre's departure. There's a good chance Wayne Selden, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Brannen Greene will all be back next season, plus Kansas is still in pursuit of consensus top-five recruit Jaylen Brown.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
