Flory Bidunga commits to Kansas: Jayhawks land nation’s No. 1 center

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks won the battle for the highly-coveted five-star from Kokomo (Indiana)

Duke has signed nearly 50 five-star basketball recruits in the past 20 years, and it appeared Flory Bidunga would become the latest to join the ever-growing list.

When the Kokomo (Indiana) senior recently revealed his college decision would be coming soon, predictions poured in favoring the Blue Devils. 

There seemed to be a consensus belief Bidunga would commit to Duke, the most recent school he visited. That was until Friday, the day before his commitment, when a new favorite emerged: Auburn.

Neither of those teams landed the nation’s top-ranked center in the class of 2024.

Bidunga rejected those predictions like a blocked shot Saturday night when he committed to Kansas during halftime of the Under Armour Next Elite 24, a national all-star game in Atlanta broadcasted live by ESPN.

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound senior is the No. 1 center and No. 5 overall prospect in the country for the class of 2024, per the 247Sports composite rankings.

Bidunga gives Kansas its first and only commit so far in the cycle, but he’s enough to send the class from unranked to No. 20 in the country. 

A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bidunga is one of the best rim protectors in high school basketball. 

Bidunga earned SBLive Junior All-American honors last season after blocking 4.5 shots per game in addition to averaging 20.2 points and 13.8 rebounds. 

Photo by Julie L. Brown