What a whirlwind week for the Kansas Jayhawks. On Wednesday, head coach Bill Self announced that he would return to coach his 24th season with KU, sending a bolt of energy right through Lawrence.Â
Combine that with the growing speculation over where the No. 1 player in the nation, Tyran Stokes, will land, and you have already had a pretty interesting last few hours.Â
Oh, and to make things even better, last night, sophomore forward Flory Bidunga announced his intention to start the NBA Draft Process while also entering the transfer portal.Â
Bidunga’s impact has been put into numbers
Amongst a talented Kansas team, Bidunga was easily the most consistent on both sides of the court and showed up when it mattered most. Through game-clinching blocks against Arizona, to an all-around game that sent Bidunga to the All-Big 12 First Team, in a season where he averaged 13.3 points, nine rebounds, and an outstanding 2.6 blocks per game, which led the Big 12 and ranked sixth in the nation overall.Â
With the NCAA Transfer Portal beckoning, Bidunga puts himself well at the top of any prospect list.Â
Evan Miyakawa of EvanMiya.com broke down that Bidunga’s ratings profile him as the second-highest transfer ever rated by his website, only behind Yaxel Lendeborg at Michigan just last season.
Flory Bidunga isn't just the best player in the portal this year, he's the 2nd best rated transfer ever at https://t.co/cegyfz96ax.
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) April 3, 2026
The only player to receive a higher transfer rating was Yaxel Lendeborg last year. He turned out to be pretty good. pic.twitter.com/aTYhe65PqA
Who will step into Bidunga’s role?
The options almost explain themselves. Either the Jayhawks take a chance on an incoming portal player or stick with 7-foot center Paul Mbiya.Â
Mbiya’s freshman season saw the former four-star play a bit part role for a majority of the campaign, playing just 106 minutes. However, in Kansas’ first round matchup against Cal Baptist, with Bidunga getting into early foul trouble, Mbiya stepped in and played a season-high 16 minutes, where he went 4/5 from the field.Â
Let’s be honest, while Mbiya clearly has talent, it would be hard to expect him to do everything Bidunga was able to do. Bidunga’s ability to guard the 1-5 and move around the court looked unnaturally great for someone his size. Mbiya likely will not have all those tools available to him next season.
The task for compiling your team for next season starts now for Self and his staff. There is a slim chance Bidunga may be the only outgoing transfer this offseason, but regardless, with an upperclass-laden squad last year, the 2026/27 starting five is bound to look completely different than this season.
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