Flory Bidunga is doing it again! The star college basketball player announced his plans to leave Kansas and enter the transfer portal with a request for even more NIL money.
However, a return to the Jayhawks is not necessarily out of the equation. He might also decide to go pro.
If this sounds familiar, it should! This same thing happened at the end of last college basketball season.
Flory Bidunga finally reached his potential at Kansas.
Bidunga rated as a five-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2024 as one of the five best players at his position and a top-15 player overall. He ultimately chose Kansas over Duke and Auburn, among others.
However, the 6-foot-10, 235-pound forward saw he saw only 16 minutes per game as a freshman and made only six starts in 34 games. Bidunga averaged 5.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game during his limited time on the court. It was a successful first year but not quite what anybody had hoped.
Fast forward to 2025-26.
Kansas lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament but Flory Bidunga was the most important big man for the Jayhawks with an average of 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He was crowned as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
The highly-touted recruit finally lived up to the hype as a sophomore. It was a breakout year for Bidunga.
NBA or college basketball transfer portal?
Despite his success in Lawrence during his second season, Flory Bidunga has decided not to stick around for year three. Probably…
The 20-year-old announced his plans to to enter the transfer portal and to test the NBA Draft waters. He will either turn pro or play another season of college basketball at a new school. Probably…
This is the second year in a row where this has happened. Bidunga strong-armed Kansas into an expensive bidding war after his freshman season by entering the transfer portal.
The Jayhawks ultimately decided to pay up to keep him from leaving. That could happen again.
However, it seems unlikely that Bidunga will change his mind and run it back for the second year in a row. He is probably going to play college basketball elsewhere in 2026-27 if not the NBA. Probably…
According to multiple reports, the reigning Big 12 DPOTY is asking for $5 million in NIL money. Only the most wealthy programs can get in the mix for his recruitment. That list might include Kentucky, Duke, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Indiana, St. John’s, Michigan, North Carolina, Louisville, Houston and Tennessee.
While it might seem crazy to pay a college basketball player $5 million for just one year of work, that is right on par with the going market rate for elite 6-foot-10+ bigs. And Bidunga might be the most elite.
Kansas could still match or exceed his highest offer to keep him as a Jayhawk. That does not seem to be a realistic possibility. Flory Bidunga will get paid close to $5 million to play college basketball at a new program next season. Probably…