Oubre goes to Atlanta; then traded
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Kansas guard Kelly Oubre, Jr., was the overall No. 15 choice of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2015 NBA Draft at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn Thursday.
This marks the sixth-straight season a Jayhawk has been selected in the first round. Historically, Oubre becomes the 77th player to be drafted in Kansas men’s basketball history and the 19th in the Bill Self-era.
“Whoever winds up getting me, I’m definitely going to give them 110 percent effort,” Oubre told the ESPN audience after hearing he could be traded to the Washington Wizards. “I want to show everybody what I can do and be great someday.”
An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Oubre averaged 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Jayhawks in 2014-15. A member of the 2015 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, the New Orleans native with a 71-inch wingspan, was second on the KU squad with 41 steals and led the Jayhawks in steals 11 times during the season.
Oubre started 27 games for KU including the last 26 contests, missing only Senior Night as Jayhawk senior Christian Garrett replaced him against West Virginia (3/3).
Named one of 10 finalists for the USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award honoring the top freshman in the country, Oubre was a two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in 2014-15. He recorded three games of 20 or more points, including a career-high 25 points against TCU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship, March 12, at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He also recorded three double-doubles on the season.
Kansas posted a 27-9 overall record in 2014-15 and won its 11th-straight, 15th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 58th overall conference regular-season championship with a 13-5 league record. The Jayhawks had the toughest schedule in the nation and its 10 victories against Associated Press nationally-ranked teams at tip were the most for KU in a season. Kansas faced 16 ranked teams at tip which were four more than the previous high for a season set three times (1994-95, 2002-03 and 2011-12). Included were 2015 Final Four teams Kentucky and Michigan State.
