AJ Storr Talks His Journey From Undiscovered to Potential NBA Draft Pick

June 26, 2024. NBA Draft Night. We’re in NYC, where else? AJ Storr is on Zoom from… Athens, Greece!?! We’ll explain. And more importantly, he knows what tonight means as a harbinger of his future.

“A year from now it will be crazy to think that you are standing on stage…”, we say before Storr excitedly interrupts, “…in a suit and tie!”

Ten points for honesty on this one. Storr, now a rising junior for the world-famous Kansas Jayhawks and a projected 2025 NBA Draft pick, doesn’t dance around an issue that many college players with remaining eligibility play hot potatoes over. “Yes,” Storr confirms, “I plan on being in the draft next year.”

Now that we’ve discussed that very logical business decision, let’s take a step back in time and share one of the most unique and modern basketball journeys of a premier player in the world.

Let’s start with the world business. Storr is currently in Greece because the Bahamian national team, which he recently made the cut for (pending some paperwork), is playing a few practice games before an Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain that will determine whether the tiny island nation with its ever-growing basketball talent will advance to Paris.

The 6-foot-1 Storr, a smooth-shooting, scoring guard who is committed to the Bahamas because his father was born there, is excited to be in Greece, partly for the experience of what he calls his “world tour,” but even more so for the chance to play with people who have accomplished his goal. The Bahamas basketball team has quietly assembled an explosive roster that includes current NBA players Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, Buddy Hield, Kai Jones and Isaiah Mobley, as well as other talented college and pro players. The team is coached by Chris DeMarco, the Golden State Warriors assistant.

“It’s really an awesome experience to be out there with all these pros,” Storr said, a day after scoring 15 points (on 7-9 shooting) in a 93-80 loss to Montenegro. “I played a couple games with them last summer and then we had a training camp in Houston earlier this month, and now I’m actually playing games with them. It’s awesome to be around all this talent.”

When the Bahamas run ends, the world will know it’s a program to watch in the future, and Storr will have more time to spend in his newest “home”—Lawrence, KS. And what a home it is. Perhaps the most storied program in all of college basketball—“I didn’t know James Naismith founded the program here. That’s who founded basketball!” Storr exclaims—and a program with typically high expectations for the ’24-25 season. As ESPN’s Jeff Borzello put it in his recent “Way-Too-Early Top 25,” the Jayhawks are No. 1 after Bill Self responded to a disappointing ’23-24 “with the most loaded roster in the country. He entered the portal and landed AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama); then All-American big man Hunter Dickinson opted to return for another year.”

It says here that Storr, with a shooting touch that the Jayhawks sorely lacked last season, may be the biggest piece of the puzzle. As for all the places he’s been for Kansas, it’s a puzzle that unfolds in its own way.

This young man is in the sweet spot for a real SLAM profile because he’s “big” enough—thanks to a year playing in New York City and a year of going viral as the top athletic scorer for B1G powerhouse Wisconsin—to be heard, but without his full story known because he wasn’t a super high-profile recruit. We’re telling you the story now so you’ll be in the know when he explodes even more at Kansas and then flies into the NBA in 12 months.

Storr grew up in Rockford, IL, a city of nearly 150,000 people about 90 minutes west of Chicago. It is most relevant in modern basketball as the home of current Houston Rocket Fred VanVleet. AJ grew up alongside an older sister, Ambranette, who scored over 2,900 points in her high school career before playing in college, and five younger brothers, primarily raised by his mother, Annette Brandy, a former Chicago high school star who also played in college, and his stepfather.

AJ went to Rockford Lutheran as a freshman in high school, where he showed promise as a hooper who went 6-1. Then began a journey that still hasn’t ended. The family moved to the South Chicago suburb of Kankakee when his mother, a teacher, got a better job offer, and AJ spent his sophomore year and most of his junior year at Kankakee High. Then COVID hit. As Brandy explains, it was time to make some decisions. “The whole state of Illinois went into lockdown. He had some offers — Chicago State, IUPUI — but he still hadn’t gotten any big looks. We knew he was a Power Five kid, he just wasn’t seen,” she says. “His dad was in Vegas, and AJ was hesitant, but I convinced him to go. Build a relationship with your dad and compete in basketball.”

It worked. Storr started playing for Vegas Elite and Bishop Gorman High School and his profile — and ranking — skyrocketed. He was set to play his senior season at Bishop Gorman when … Clark County, NV (which includes Las Vegas) announced no winter sports due to Covid. “After Vegas closed, he transferred to AZ Compass and they made it all the way to GEICO Nationals,” his mother says. “By then, he had a lot of offers, but I thought he needed to grow up a little bit.”

So he headed to the esteemed IMG Academy in Florida for a post-graduate year that went swimmingly. Ultimately, AJ had visited five high schools in five years, albeit for reasons beyond his control. When the time came to make his official college choice, Storr enrolled at St. John’s, putting himself firmly on the (admittedly biased) radar of #SLAMfam’s college fans by putting together a Big East All-Freshman campaign that included 40 percent 3-point shooting, 9 ppg, and an exciting style of play. Unfortunately, the Johnnies cut Mike Anderson, and Storr opted to head back to the Midwest, where he put together an All-B1G Second Team season (17 ppg, 4 rpg, 1 apg) in Madison and cemented himself as a future pro. Storr flirted with entering this year’s draft, but instead decided to move on one more time. To the best team in the county.

“Playing for all the different teams has really helped my IQ. I’ve learned different plays, different coaches, different cultures,” says Storr, explaining the benefits of his journey. “Off the field, every school has welcomed me and made me feel like family. I have friends from every school.”

According to Storr, the rise from unknown high schooler to likely first-round NBA pick isn’t because he’s recently gotten good at the sport. For better or worse, exposure is still important. “I’ve been pretty good at basketball my whole life, but I had to get around the right platform and the right coaches and take advantage of the opportunities,” he says. “St. John’s is in a great conference. Then I went to the Big Ten and the Badgers, who have made Final Four runs and are known all over the world. Being there helped me a lot. Now I’m looking forward to taking my game to the next level at Kansas.”

Storr describes himself as highly coachable, having learned bits and pieces from all the coaches he’s played for, but none have been around him consistently enough to develop a deep mentorship. For day-to-day support in pursuing his dream, Storr points to the people who have been there the longest. “I have a team with my mom, my sister, my management,” he says. “You need a team to achieve your dream. You can be the most talented player, but if you don’t have the right people around you, you’re not going to make it.”

For her part, Mom couldn’t be prouder. “I’m so happy for him,” says Brandy, who recently got a new job — and bought a house — back in Rockford. “He’s put in so much effort to get here.”

And to reiterate, Storr himself sees his varied experiences as positive. “My game translates to a lot of different places,” he says. “I know how to fit into a program. I respect all my coaches. I’m a great teammate. Once you step on the court or in the weight room, you become a brother. Where I’m trying to get, you have to be prepared. In the NBA, guys get traded all the time. So that could be an advantage.”

Portraits via Missy Minear Kansas Athletics.