NCAA Basketball: Analyzing key contenders for 5-star C Flory Bidunga
Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals, after a brutal 4-win past season, have landed a ton of newcomers. That includes a pair of five-star incoming freshmen such as guard Trentyn Flowers and center Dennis Evans, who ranks in the top 30 overall. They also still have former five-star frontcourt player Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor.
Louisville is another regional option for Bidunga but they have a lot to prove that last season was a fluke for Coach Kenny Payne. There’s no telling how good Evans will be and it’s hard to see the program over-recruit him, even for a top-5 overall talent. The Cardinals have other needs so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they focus on more realistic targets going forward.
Michigan Wolverines
It’s been a rough offseason for the Wolverines. And among the notable news was center Hunter Dickinson transferring out. That left former top-50 prospect, Tarris Reed as the lone true five-man left. They did land Tennessee forward Olivier Nkamhoua but even if they choose to play him some minutes at the five, he’s not a factor for Bidunga since he was one season left.
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On paper, Bidunga is better than Reed but the projected starting center has a chance to cement his standing as the key frontcourt piece. Plus, there are rumored issues with NIL that could play a role in this recruitment. Landing Nkamhoua has stopped the bleeding for the program but we’ll see what Michigan does next, as well as how long Coach Juwan Howard plans on staying around as well.