KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The 18-year-old at the center of one of college basketball's best stories went full giggle when presented with the absurdity of it all.
"It really has been wild," Ochai Agbaji said.
He is the son of a Kansas City city planner and a kindergarten teacher, a good and serious student from Kansas City's Oak Park High who was the nation's 145th-best prospect in his class according to Rivals. Late into his senior year, he was judging offers from Colorado State, Air Force and Fresno State.
Now, he is a 6-foot-6 starting guard for Kansas, the No. 12 team in the country, and an irreplaceable reason that a 15th straight Big 12 championship is still possible for the Jayhawks. He began the season as a redshirt. He is now the subject of NBA inquiries, a possible lottery pick in the future, and a talent that professional teams are at least researching for this year's draft.
"I do think he's probably our best long-range prospect," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
There is little or no precedent for this. Ben McLemore redshirted at KU and then the next year in 2013 was picked seventh overall in the NBA draft, but he was a top recruit who sat out only because of academics. McLemore's path is uncommon, but not rare.
Tyrus Thomas might be the best precedent. He redshirted at LSU and then the next year in 2006 went fourth overall. But even he was a late bloomer, growing some three inches as a high school senior, and his redshirt came after a preseason neck injury.
Agbaji today is essentially the same talent colleges overlooked until the last moment. Long, bouncy and inexperienced even by the standards of incoming freshmen. His improvement came quick, and relatively late, bypassing the normal pace and path of college stars who are now his peers.
The guy who did not start for his local AAU team and who was fully on board with redshirting _ his dad thought maybe by his fifth year in college scouts might notice him _ is now a central figure for a blueblood program.
"Honestly," said Brennan Scanlon, Agbaji's high school coach. "We didn't know he'd be doing what he's doing now."
So, the questions so many are asking about Agbaji: how the heck did this happen? How does everyone _ recruiting services, college recruiters, his own AAU coach _ miss this much talent?
And if he is this good, why in the world was he redshirting?
These are good questions. Let's talk about how everyone missed on him first.
