Flory Bidunga officially informed the college basketball coaching staff at Kansas that he intends to enter the transfer portal. An expensive bidding war is set to unfold.
The current (lack of) rules for collegiate athletics and NIL creates an unfortunate reality where free agency takes place at the end of every single season. This is just the latest example.
Bidunga, a five-star prospect in the college basketball recruiting Class of 2024, ranked as one of the five best players at his position. He was ranked as a top-15 recruit overall. The Indiana-native ultimately chose to play for the Jayhawks. Duke and Auburn were also in the mix, among others.
Although Bidunga arrived to Lawrence with a lot of hype, he saw only 16 minutes per game as a freshman and made only six starts in 34 games. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound center averaged 5.9 points, 54. rebounds and 1.6 blocks during his limited time on the court. It was a successful first year and he is only going to get even better as he continues to develop into what I expect to be a star.
However, Flory Bidunga might not play for Kansas next season. “Might” being the key word.
Is Flory Bidunga going to stay?
It was announced on Saturday that Bidunga is going to enter the transfer portal. He is doing so with a very specific caveat. According to Pete Thamel, “returning to Kansas remains a strong option.”
I do not know all of the dynamics between the Jayhawks and their five-star rising sophomore. Perhaps the issue here stems from playing time. Perhaps there is more to the story. I doubt it!
To say that a return to Lawrence is very much on the table makes me think Bidunga is strong-arming Kansas into an expensive bidding war. He wants to get paid more money.
Other schools are going to make him big financial offers to try and lure him out of the portal. Flory Bidunga can then leverage those offers. The Jayhawks may or may not choose to match. They might take a look at the other numbers and present him with slightly less money. He can then choose whether playing at Kansas or making the most money means more to him.
This is the system the NCAA has created. It is broken. Bidunga is going to be a star and he knows it. By entering the transfer portal, he can leverage his stardom to get paid as such.
I don’t blame the players. I blame the governing body. To allow for what is essentially unregulated free agency after every season is not sustainable. Something has to change.