The NBA draft lottery has come and gone, and now it is time to think very critically about the potential options for the Jazz at the #2 selection. However, I am going to leave that job for someone smarter than myself - instead, I will view the awe-inspiring Mr. Darryn Peterson through the lens of baseless superstition. Peterson spent his single year collegiate career at Kansas University, where he wowed with his creation abilities and best-in-class shot making. While many articles can and will be written on those talents and how they would potentially fit on the Jazz roster, I will be instead be focusing on the first detail in the preceding sentence; namely, his alma-mater.
Per my exhaustive studies, 9 Jayhawks have played for the Jazz organization since its founding as the New Orleans Jazz in 1974, and that number may increase to 10 if Peterson is the selection for Utah on draft night. In anticipation for that potentially franchise-altering decision, this article will attempt to recount the history of Kansas University alumni on the Jazz by ranking each of those 9 players. This analysis will attempt to place the players in the order of their production and ability while on the Jazz - more emphasis will be placed on peak output than longevity with the organization. Today, the question will be answered; does a Jayhawk pedigree lead to success with the Jazz, or does the trip out to Utah cause these alums to say in despair “I have a feeling we aren’t in Kansas anymore?”
*Writer’s note: I realize this analysis on Peterson lacks some academic rigor, and probably wouldn’t hold up against a peer review. If he is picked at #2, this obviously has no bearing on his future Utah Jazz success, which I hope is plentiful. We’re just having fun here.
9. Brandon Rush
PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 6: Brandon Rush #25 of the Utah Jazz controls the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 6, 2013 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 6: Brandon Rush #25 of the Utah Jazz controls the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 6, 2013 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Brandon had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it career with the Utah Jazz - 418 minutes played during the 25 win 2013-2014 campaign. Don’t think that if we were to just have given Rush a few more minutes that this disastrous season could’ve been averted. He averaged a measly 2.1 points per game on a horrid 43% true shooting, and his defense was nothing to write home about either. The fact that 2 years later he started 25 games for the 2015-2016 Warriors (otherwise known as the greatest regular season team of all time) is perhaps the single most impressive testament to the greatness of Stephen Curry.
8. Udoka Azubuike
Utah Jazz v Sacramento Kings
Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
It was oh-so tempting to place Doke at the bottom of this list, less because of what was and more because of what could have been. The shock of Adam Silver announcing his name as the Jazz’s #27 overall pick in 2020 still lingers inside of me, and is only surpassed by the shock of reading that Dennis Lindsey announcing that the organizations advanced metrics placed Azubuike at #2 in the draft class. The Jazz fandoms disdain for this particular pick is not purely an example of hindsight being 20/20 - even at the time, people tended to understand that (a) Desmond Bane and Jaden McDaniels were cleaner, more useful fits for what the team needed and (b) that using a first round pick on Udoka was a bit of a reach. More than any other instance in my memory, this is a case of the general public being 100% spot-on in their evaluation of late first round prospects; Bane and McDaniels are key starters on playoff teams, and Azubuike is out of the league after an uneventful 4 seasons, and is now playing in the Israeli A-league. While perhaps not the worst Jayhawk in Jazz history, his lack of success was certainly the most influential on the overall strength of the organization - a different pick in 2020, and perhaps the Jazz have a banner in the rafters, and the construction of the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert statues are in early development.
7. Ochai Agbaji
Utah Jazz Open Scrimmage
Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
A former teammate of Azubuike both on the Jayhawks and the Jazz, Ochai provided more minutes and less disappointment, but without play that was very conducive to winning basketball games. Ochai was drafted after his All-American senior season and marketed as a high-floor, instant-impact type of player, but failed to make his mark in Utah, even with the constant carousel of new players as Will Hardy looked for anyone that could be a piece on the next iteration of a winning team (23 players took the court in Agbaji’s rookie year, 21 in his sophomore). He was an underwhelming shooter, an unreliable defender, and showcased next-to-no skills with the ball in his hands. Nowadays, he’s struggling to get minutes on the tanking Nets, and unless he turns things around, he will be brought up in draft analyses for years as an example of the perils of drafting supposedly “high-floor” players, who lack an outlier skill to hang their hat on.
6. Jeff Withey
NBA: Utah Jazz at Brooklyn Nets
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Withey was perfectly serviceable and perfectly unremarkable third string big man. He played in the era of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, meaning that even on his best days we had little use for him. Was he much of a scorer? No, I wouldn’t say so. Did his feet seem painfully slow at times? Yes, certainly. Was he missed once the Jazz moved on to Tony Bradley and Epke Udoh as the backups in 2018? Not particularly. But, for about 10 minutes a game he brought reliable rim protection and rebounding, and was able to function in the offensive sets Quin had designed for Gobert while Rudy was out with injury. (P.S. - did you know that he got a triple-double with blocks in his senior season Kansas? Because I sure didn’t).
5. Bud Stallworth
Alright, sue me; I have not watched a second of Bud Stallworth’s New Orleans Jazz career, and I’m not sure that any highlights of it exist on the internet. Stallworth was a selection in the 1974 expansion draft, meaning that he played on the first ever roster put forth by the Jazz organization. He put up some points on mediocre teams, and then unfortunately had to end his career after 3 years in New Orleans due to back injuries incurred by an automobile accident. Stallworth maintains some fame for ending his Kansas career with a 50 point game against the rival Missouri Tigers, but was less spectacular during his time in New Orleans.
4. Jacque Vaughn
In terms of role, Vaughn functioned in a similar fashion to Jeff Withey - perfectly dependable, not too memorable third stringer behind a Jazz legend (Gobert with Withey, Stockton with Vaughn). Also, what a testament to the durability of Stockton that Vaughn, his backup, played 224 games in Utah and didn’t start a single one - that’s true iron man stuff. But, back to the Jayhawks, I give Vaughn the edge over Withey primarily because he played on the two most successful Jazz teams in history. Additionally, he could function well in the very reserved backup point guard role that Sloan preferred - run the plays, don’t turn the ball over, be pesky on defense. Not everybody could function in that scheme, but Vaughn was reliable enough to get minutes in the twilight of Stockton and Malone’s careers. Here’s hoping he enjoyed his time in Salt Lake; he was on the Kansas basketball staff this past year, and presumably had plenty of time to hype up the nightlife to Darryn.
3. Svi Mykhailiuk
Portland Trail Blazers v Utah Jazz
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Is this a bit of recency bias? Most likely, but I have been nothing but impressed by Svi’s time in Utah. While it was an interesting decision to start him over the young bucks at the beginning of the year, I do believe that Mykhailiuk contributed more to winning than any of his potential replacements in the starting lineup. A consistent shooter and high energy defender, Svi knows his job and performs it well. A little too well, in fact - in my opinion, it was the reason Svi was shut down at the end of the year while Konchar continued to receive minutes. Svi may not be around on next years roster, and may not ever taste winning basketball in Utah, but I will stand firm on the idea that despite the fact that the ‘25-’26 Jazz did not do much winning, it was not the fault of Svi Mykhailiuk - the shooting and know-how he displayed would translate to a bench role on a number of winning teams, and I hope he receives the chance to prove that in a Jazz uniform.
2. Danny Manning
Manning’s time on the Jazz was short-lived - he lasted one year, 2000-2001. However, unlike all of his predecessors on this list, Manning was a rotational contributor to a team that won basketball games. While he was long past his Wooden Award days as a Jayhawk, and his all-star days as a Clipper, Manning was still able to provide reliable bucket-getting off the bench for a Jazz team still competing in the rough-and-tumble Western Conference. And even though Utah was eliminated in the first round by an up-and-coming Mavericks team, it was not due to fault of Manning - in those 5 games, he increased his scoring, rebounding, and efficiency as Sloan trusted the playoff-savvy veteran with increased responsibilities. This was no world-beater, to be sure, and he was surely best used in a bench role, but Manning still had some gas in the tank and provided an admirable single season outing in Utah.
1. Greg Ostertag
Was Ostertag the most consistent? No, not even close. Was he ever a poster boy of physical fitness and conditioning? Far from it. But did he block 9 shots to close out the Shaq-led ‘97 Lakers in game 5, and then in the immediately following round play Hakeem Olajuwon to a stalemate in game 6 to beat the Rockets and secure the franchises first trip to the NBA finals? Yes, and no one can ever take that away from him. As a young, late first-rounder, Ostertag was immediately thrown out of the frying pan of Kansas and into the fire of starting on a team with championship aspirations, going against the best big men the league had to offer on a nightly basis, and he did about as well as anyone could’ve reasonably hoped. Heck, if Michael Jordan missed a few more shots in 1997, Ostertag very well could’ve been known to this day as the starting center on a championship team. There’s more to basketball analysis than a series of “what if…”‘s, but Ostertag’s perfectly solid defense and iconic clutch performances are found outside of the realm of the hypothetical. If The Big O is half as good as a mayor as he was as a Shaq defender, the people of Mount Vernon, Texas have chosen one dependable elected official.
Utah’s history with Kansas alumni has often been a bit underwhelming. Missed draft picks, deep bench pieces, and wasted potential define the relationship between a historically successful NBA organization and a historically successful basketball university. Luckily for the Jazz, they may have the golden opportunity on June 23rd to buck the trend and select one of the best prospects KU has ever produced.
Do you have any changes you’d make to this ranking? Any fun memories regarding these players? Comment below!