Kansas forward Flory Bidunga plans to declare for the NBA Draft. However, the sophomore also intends to maintain his college eligibility by entering the NCAA transfer portal, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports.
The 6-foot-10 forward earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named to both the All-Big 12 team and the conference All-Defensive team. He averaged 13.3 points (third among Jayhawks scorers) and nine rebounds while ranking fifth in the nation with 2.6 blocks per game.
Bidunga, who will turn 21 in May, posted his best performance in a November matchup with Princeton, scoring 25 points (10-of-11 shooting) with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. He scored 23 points three times this season, when facing Green Bay, Baylor and top-ranked Arizona.
“He’s the most versatile and best defender in our league. And there’s some other good ones, too,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said after Bidunga won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“The biggest steps I would say, staying disciplined and understanding to play to his length rather than play to gamble,” he added. “I think he’s done a much better job with that.”
Bidunga also entered the transfer portal after last season, as On3’s Griffin McVeigh pointed out. Bidunga was reportedly recruited by Indiana (his home state) and Auburn. However, he withdrew from the portal and decided to stay with Kansas after receiving a new NIL deal.
Yahoo Sports’ NBA Draft expert Kevin O’Connor did not list Bidunga as a first-round selection in his mock draft released before the NCAA tournament. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projected him as a second-round pick.
Kansas is also expected to lose freshman guard Darryn Peterson to the NBA Draft. He was once viewed as the No. 1 prospect but is now projected as a top-five selection.
