Flory Bidunga, 2024 IndyStar Mr. Basketball, plans on entering the transfer portal, per multiple reports.
The former Kokomo star averaged 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds, while shooting 69.8% from the field as a freshman at Kansas this season.
"The athleticism jumps off the charts," Kansas center Hunter Dickinson said earlier this month. "He can put his head at the rim pretty much whenever he wants. He's got really good instincts, especially blocking the ball. He's a really aggressive player and he uses his athleticism to his advantage."
Added Jayhawks coach Bill Self: "He's got to develop some consistent offensive ways that he can score more points. Right now, he's a rim runner. Obviously, a lob threat. Scores off of putbacks and in transition. He's got to get to where he's a better back-to-the-basket scorer, a better face-up scorer."
Bidunga, a 6-9 force in the paint, averaged 19.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.4 blocked shots and 3.2 assists per game as a senior, leading Kokomo to a 25-4 record and 4A sectional title before running into eventual state champion Fishers in the regional. He arrived at Kokomo from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021 and finished his career with 1,609 points, 1,132 rebounds and 402 blocked shots and shooting 80.3% from the field.
“I knew he had a chance to be special just with how coachable he was,” former Kokomo coach John Peckinpaugh said. “It was weird. He didn’t speak great English, obviously. But he only had to be told stuff one time and he picked up on stuff very, very quickly. Once we got about halfway through the season and he started to turn it on, we thought there was probably a chance this kid could be the best player in the state by the time he’s a senior. He never questions coaching. He wants to be coached, wants to be pushed.”
Bidunga, the No. 5-ranked player in the 2024 class per 247Sports, picked Kansas from a group of finalists that included Auburn, Duke and Michigan.
He won Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior, leading the Wildkats to the Class 4A state final, and won the award again as a senior, becoming the fifth two-time winner from Indiana, joining Lawrence North’s Greg Oden (2005, '06), North Central’s Jason Gardner (1998, '99), Bedford North Lawrence’s Damon Bailey (1989, '90) and Marion’s Jay Edwards (1986, '87).
“I think his name needs to be up there with the likes of Greg Oden, George McGinnis and all of those guys that have won it in the past and done special things,” Peckinpaugh said. “The work he’s put in the last three years and what he’s done for this program, I definitely think he deserves it – on and off the court. It’s who you want Indiana to be represented by.”
Bidunga averaged 16.2 minutes per game as a freshman, but his potential has him forecasted as a potential NBA first-round pick.
"His time in college will probably be shorter than most," Dickinson said.
Journal & Courier reporter Sam King contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Flory Bidunga to enter transfer portal, leave Kansas
