Incoming Jayhawks basketball big man will be Udoka Azubuike 2.0

On June 24th, the Kansas Jayhawks announced that top-30 recruit Kohl Rosario would be heading to Lawrence and even reclassifying to do so this year! One day later, Bill Self continued to make splashes, as he pried 20-year-old Congolese big man, Paul Mbiya, from NC State to join Kansas as well. Mbiya feels very similar to 2016 Udoka Azubuike for Coach Self and KU.

Back in 2016, Azubuike was a highly-sought after 5-star recruit who boasted a height of 6’11” and a wingspan of 7’7”. Mbiya is almost identical in size standing at 6’11” as well and also carrying an insanely long 7’8” wingspan. As a freshman at KU, Azubuike suffered an injury, but prior to getting hurt, he averaged 5.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 12.9 minutes per game.

Mbiya will enter college as an older freshman than Azubuike did however, and Coach Self confirmed that he is not only big, but also an immediate impact guy. The 20-year-old behemoth of a man is coming off a very productive season with ASVEL in France, where he averaged 15.3 PPG and 11.7 RPG, to go along with 3.0 BPG in 32.3 minutes per contest.

Similar to Azubuike who was notorious for poor free-throw shooting, Mbiya also struggled from the line, connecting on just 51.6% of his shots at the charity stripe, but he carries the same upside of Azubuike as well, who eventually became a Big 12 Player of the Year and a Consensus All-American.

Where does Mbiya fit into Bill Self’s rotation this upcoming season?

After a slow beginning of the offseason for Coach Self and Kansas, the team is now looking increasingly stacked around future star, Darryn Peterson. The addition of Paul Mbiya further solidifies Kansas’ frontcourt as top-tier, as he joins Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller, and others. KU fans are already salivating at the thought of Mbiya and Bodinga catching lobs from Peterson.

While it is unclear if Mbiya will start alongside Bidunga or come off the bench in relief of him, one thing is certain, he and Peterson are a match made in heaven. Back in the late 2010s, Azubuike was consistently making the lives of his PGs easier, such as Devon Dotson, Devonte’ Graham, and AP Player of the Year, Frank Mason. Mbiya can now do the same for Peterson.

The incredible length of Mbiya and Bidunga will also allow Coach Self to play some pretty creative and effective zone defenses if he would like. Even if Self does not start the two big men together, it can be a destructive force to pull out of the playbook in stretches. Furthermore, there will not be a team in the nation that KU won’t be able to match up with from a size-perspective.

Only time will tell if Mbiya can replicate some of the magic that Azubuike had (when healthy) in Lawrence, but the comparisons between the two are endless and Jayhawks fans should be incredibly excited about this pick up for the Crimson and Blue.