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June 26, 2024: NBA draft night. We’re in New York, where else? AJ Storr raises… Athens, Greece!?! We’ll explain all that in a second. More importantly, he knows the meaning of tonight as a prelude to his future.
“Literally a year from tonight, is it crazy to think you’ll be walking on stage…” we say, before Storr excitedly interjects, “…in a suit and tie?”
Ten points for honesty with this one. Storr, now a youngster for the world-renowned Kansas Jayhawks and a projected 2025 NBA draft pick, isn’t dancing around the subject that many college players have the right to play hot potato with. “Yes,” Storr confirms, “I plan on being drafted next year.”
Now that we have that very logical business decision out of the way, let’s step back and share one of the most unique and thoroughly modern basketball journeys of any top player in the world.
We will start with global business. Storr is currently in Greece as the Bahamian national team, for which he recently made the roster (pending some paperwork), plays a few exhibition games ahead of an Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain that will determine whether the small island nation becomes more and more of a basketball nation. greater talent reaches Paris.
The 6-7 Storr, a smooth-shooting, scoring guard with ties 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 more so for the chance to play with people who have gotten to where he wants to go. Bahamas basketball has quietly built an explosive roster that includes current NBA players Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, Buddy Hield, Kye Jones and Isaiah Mobley, along with other talented college and professional players. The team is coached by longtime Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco.
“It’s a really cool experience to go out 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 few games with them last summer, and then we had training camp in Houston earlier this month, and now I’m playing real games with them. It’s great to be around all this talent.”
Whenever the Bahamas run ends, the world notices that it’s a plan to follow in the future, and then Storr will have more time to spend in his final “home” of Lawrence, KS. And what a house it is. Perhaps the most popular program in college basketball. “I didn’t know James Naismith founded the program here. That’s who founded basketball.” Storr is exclaiming, and a program that typically has high expectations for the 24-25 season. As ESPN’s Jeff Borzello noted in his latest Way-Too-Early Top 25 , the Jayhawks are No. 1 after Bill Self responded to a disappointing 2023-24 with “the most loaded roster in the country. He entered the portal and landed AJ Storey (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama); then All-American big man Hunter Dickinson decided to come back for another year.”
That said, Storr, with the shooting touch the Jayhawks sorely missed last season, may be the biggest piece of the puzzle. As for all the places he’s been before Kansas, it kind of unravels as a bit of a puzzle.
This young man is in a good spot for a proper SLAM profile because he’s “big” enough, thanks to one year of playing in New York and another year of going viral on B1G powerhouse Wisconsin’s athletic leading scorer, to be heard, but without. his full story is known because he was not a highly rated recruit. We’ll tell you the story now so you’ll know when he explodes more at Kansas and then flies to the NBA in 12 months.
Storr grew up in Rockford, Ill., a city of about 150,000 about 90 minutes west of Chicago. It is most relevant in modern circles as the home of current Houston Rocket Fred VanVleet. AJ pitched alongside one older sister, Ambranette, who scored more than 2,900 points in her high school career before playing in college, and five younger siblings, raised primarily by her mother, Annette Brandy, a former star at Chicago High School. who played in college. as well as his stepfather.
AJ attended Rockford Lutheran as a high school freshman, showing promise as a player who was still only 6-1. After that began a ride that has yet to end. 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 entire state of Illinois shut down. He had some offers — Chicago State, IUPUI — but he hadn’t gotten a big look yet. We knew he was a Power Five kid, we just didn’t see him,” he says. “His dad lived in Vegas and AJ was hesitant about it, but I convinced him to go. Build a relationship with your dad and put yourself through basketball.”
It worked. Storr began playing for Vegas Elite and Bishop Gorman High School, and his exposure and reputation rose. He was going to play his senior season for Bishop Gorman and then…Clark County, NV (which includes Las Vegas) announced there would be no winter sports due to Covid. “After Vegas closed, he moved to AZ Compass and they made it all the way to the GEICO Nationals,” says his mother. “He had a lot of offers at the time, but I thought he needed to mature a bit.”
So off to the famous IMG Academy in Florida for a post-grad year that went great. After all, AJ had attended five high schools in five years, albeit for reasons beyond his control. When it came time to make his official college choice, Storn committed to St. John’s, a solid blip on #SLAMfam’s college fan radar, putting together an All-Big East freshman campaign that was highlighted by 40 percent from three. point range, 9 ppg and an exciting style of play. Alas, the Johnnies fired Mike Anderson and Storr opted to return to the Midwest, putting together an All-B1G Second Team season (17 ppg, 4 rpg, 1 apg) in Madison and establishing himself as a future pro. Storr flirted entering this year’s draft, instead opting to transfer once again. To the best team in the county.
“Playing on all the different teams has really helped my IQ. I learned different plays, different coaches, different cultures,” Storr says, explaining the benefits of his journey. “Off the court, every school has embraced me and made it like family. I have friends from all schools.”
In Storr’s mind, going from high school unknown to likely first-round NBA pick isn’t because he’s been good at sports lately. 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 coaches and take advantage of opportunities,” he says. “St John’s is in a big conference. Then I went to the Big Ten and the Badgers, who made a run to the Final Four and are known around the world. Being there helped me a lot. Now I’m looking forward to taking my game to another level in Kansas.”
Storr describes himself as very coachable and has learned bits and pieces from all the coaches he’s played for, but none of them have been around him consistently enough to develop a deep mentorship. For daily support as she pursues her dream, Storr points to people who have been around longer. “I have a team with my mom, my sister, my management,” he says. “It takes a team to realize your dream. You can be the most talented player, but if you don’t have the right people around you, you won’t make it.”
For her part, mom couldn’t be more proud. “I’m so excited for him,” said Brandi, who recently got a new job and bought a house in Rockford. “He’s put in so much work to get here.”
And to reiterate, Storr himself sees his diverse experiences as positive. “My game translates to a lot of different places,” he says. “I know how to buy a program. I respect all my coaches. I’m a great teammate. When you step on that court or weight room, you become brothers. Where I’m trying to go, you have to be ready. Guys get traded all the time in the NBA. So this can be an advantage.”
Portraits via Missy Minear Kansas Athletics.
