Jayhawks have chance to ‘quiet a lot of noise’ in NCAA Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY (KCTV) - The Kansas Jayhawks and Samford Bulldogs worked out Wednesday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, a day before their Round of 64 matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

Players on both sides said they are excited to get started with March Madness.

“I’ve been watching this pretty much my whole life, so it’s pretty crazy to finally be a part of it,” said freshman forward Johnny Furphy.

Graduate senior forward Parker Braun, who was born in Burlington and played in high school at Blue Valley Northwest, said it’s special to put on the jersey of a team he frequently picked to make long tournament runs.

“It’s awesome,” Braun said, two years after his younger brother Christian helped the Jayhawks win a national title. “Watching it as a kid growing up, always having Kansas going all the way every year. To be able to put on that jersey and play on this court and hopefully do something special for this program -- it’s really cool. It’s a great opportunity.”

Kansas is a 7.5-point favorite against Samford in a game that’s set to tip off just before 9 p.m. CT on Thursday.

“We’re really excited,” said freshman guard Elmarko Jackson. “It’s a chance for us to quiet a lot of noise, a lot of outside noise. So I think it’s going to be fun. We can play loose, we can play free. I feel that’s what you have to do to be successful in this tournament.”

That outside noise Jackson spoke of is in large part a result of a 10-loss regular season and the absence of All-America candidate Kevin McCullar, who head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday would not play for the entire NCAA Tournament.

“We honestly want to play for Kevin,” said Braun. “It’s hard for him to have to watch from the sideline, but he’s been a great teammate through it all and he’s going to be there behind us.”

One Samford player said he was disappointed in McCullar’s absence.

“Actually, I’m a little bit disappointed,” said Samford forward Jermaine Marshall. “I wanted to play Kansas at their best, because I feel at our best we can beat anybody.”

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