Flory Bidunga’s future with the Kansas Jayhawks was in doubt when he entered the transfer portal following Kansas’ early March Madness exit. With intentions to stay at Kansas throughout the process, it was evident that this was a leverage move to make more money in NIL.
Flory Bidunga Returns as Kansas Reloads: Jayhawks Build Around Young Core for 2025-26
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Bidunga has signed a deal to stay at Kansas for at least another season.
“I’m really excited to be back for another year to continue to grow and develop and bring a national championship to Kansas,” Bidunga told ESPN.
The 6’9″, 220-pound center arrived at Kansas as a top 20 recruit – averaging 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. His role expanded when senior forward K.J. Adams suffered a shoulder injury halfway through the season, allowing Bidunga to build trust with Bill Self. Even when Adams returned from injury, the freshman center still saw consistent minutes.
With Hunter Dickinson out of the picture, Bidunga will slide into the starting lineup next season, providing Kansas with a prominent rim protector.
Kansas landed the consensus No. 3 recruit in the nation, guard Darryn Peterson. He is an all-around guard who showcases the ability to score and create points for his teammates.
In addition, the Jayhawks had already made moves in the transfer portal, signing Loyola-Chicago transfer guard Jayden Daniels. The 6’4″ guard averaged 13.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game this season.
Kansas followed that up by bringing in Illinois transfer forward Tre White, who averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season.
With the departures of Zeke Mayo, Dejaun Harris Jr., Dickinson, A.J. Storr, David Coit, and Rylan Griffen, Coach Self has a ton of work to re-tool this roster heading into the 2025-26 season.
Retaining Bidunga was paramount, and Kansas has done that while bringing in reinforcements on the wing and in the backcourt.
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Last offseason, Self and the coaching staff prioritized bringing in pure scorers, which translated to 21-13, 11-9 2024-25 campaign. It appears this offseason that the coaching staff is surrounding Bidunga and Peterson with players who can score but also have more physicality and discipline on the defensive end.
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