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Kelly Oubre Leaving Kansas Jayhawks For The NBA [Video]

By Joel Wagler

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Kelly Oubre Jr has made his decision. He is leaving the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team for the bright lights, and big money of the NBA.

Oubre made his announcement via YouTube.

It is hard to see Kelly Oubre leave Kansas, even though it wasn’t really unexpected. Before the Jayhawks’ early exit from the NCAA Tournament, Maxwell Ogden of Hoops Habit had Oubre ranked as the eighth best draft prospect.

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Josh Hill of FanSided, has Oubre going 12th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. ESPN has him as a lottery pick.

Oubre wasn’t a dominating force in his only season at Kansas, and could probably use more seasoning., but that isn’t how the world of college and NBA basketball works right now.

College basketball serves as a mere whistle stop for top prospects, on their way to the big money. NBA like potential; performance isn’t really figured into it much.

As a freshman, Oubre had decent, but not great numbers.

He clearly needs to work on his passing skills, as he only recorded 28 assists all season. Averaging in single digits in scoring, on a team that needed scoring, shows he has a lot to work on offensively. His less than spectacular shooting percentage of 44% isn’t very stellar either.

Another year under Kansas Jayhawks Head Coach Bill Self might have made Kelly Oubre into a top five player. Still, it is hard to fault a young kid who is going to have a whole lot of money thrown at him. Don’t blame the kid; blame the system.

As a fan of basketball, I hate this whole culture of the one-and-done players. I love Kansas basketball with all my heart, but it is hard to maintain a high degree of passion for a player who, in all likelihood, is only going to be around for a year.

Whatever happened to finding great players who want to play for a school, and be great? Bo Ryan seems to find those players to come to Wisconsin. I understand it is naive to expect every player to play for all four years like in decades past. The system is broken, and there is no fix in sight.

Kelly Oubre would probably benefit for another year at Kansas. His shooting was inconsistent. He isn’t a great passer, or ball handler, or defender yet, and he could improve with another season at the college level.

He has size, athleticism, and a nice NBA-type body, so off he goes. Fans will love the next one-and-done guy, support him for a season, then wistfully watch him follow Oubre to greener financial pastures.

Enjoy these highlights from his time with the Kansas Jayhawks from Draft Express and YouTube.

Next: A Look Back On Bill Self's Big 12 Titles

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