NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Ranking top 4 teams for 5-star center Flory Bidunga

Flory Bidunga has become one of the top rising prospects in the 2024 NCAA Basketball recruiting class. The 6’9 center from Kokomo, Indiana is an outstanding athlete, whose explosiveness and physical style will allow him to compete with anyone out the gate. And with a little more development can become a star frontcourt player in college.

Originally, the Cincinnati Bearcats were viewed as an early frontrunner for his services almost a year ago. However, the big names started to get involved, including some blue bloods. And in the end, they ended up not making the final cut for Bidunga.

With four teams left, which of them makes the most sense for Bidunga and his development? Here’s a close look at the pros and cons of each potential landing spot.

4. Michigan Wolverines

It’s a rough time to compare Michigan with the other schools, as they’re coming off not only missing the NCAA Tournament but a rather rough offseason. They lost their star big man (Hunter Dickinson) to the transfer portal, with NIL reportedly being a factor. Looking at the three other options, that may hurt their chances of landing Bidunga.

But Dickinson leaving does open a spot in the center position, which only has Tarris Reed. So among the four options, Michigan can offer the clearest path toward playing time without Bidunga worrying about being recruited over.

There are other issues at play, including the possibility that Coach Juwan Howard may not be long for the job if there is still administrative red tape. And will there be enough supporting players for the Wolverines to be good enough to make it back to the NCAA Tournament? Michigan is still a good option but compared to the other three, remains a distant fourth.

3. Kansas Jayhawks

Looking specifically at the center positions, there was some good and bad news for the Jayhawks. They landed the best big man that entered the transfer portal this offseason in Hunter Dickinson, who was an All-American caliber player at Michigan. However, his commitment came at a cost, as both Ernest Udeh Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor left the team for the portal, leaving open a hole.

Santa Clara senior transfer Parker Braun is the backup option at the five-spot so the Jayhawks need to find a center in the 2024 class. There are three options for the Big 12 program at the moment, including Derik Queen and Patrick Ngonbga. However, of the trio, Bidunga could be the most realistic target for the program.

That being said, there’s a condition that has to be met in order for them to have a real shot at landing this top-10 overall prospect. And that’s for Dickinson to not be around for his 5th year of eligibility. It’s unclear what he might do because he’s entered the NBA Draft process in the past but based on his current stock, likely won’t ever get drafted.

So will Dickinson give up a potential final large payday to go pro or stay at Kansas and its situation for another year? I doubt Bidunga will want to play behind him and them playing together on the court. So in a way, Kansas may be held hostage by that pending a decision and if that truly matters, they likely won’t win this recruitment.

2. Auburn Tigers

The Tigers nearly lost their best player this offseason in Johni Broome, who was a standout in the NBA Draft process. He’s set to return for his 4th year in NCAA Basketball which means that Broome would have one more season of eligibility if he so chooses.

So in a way, Auburn would be in the same position as Kansas when it comes to its starting center. The main difference is that Broome has a better chance of getting drafted compared to Dickinson since his game as an athletic rim-runner that defends translates much better compared to a post-scorer that’s below-average on offense like the current Jayhawk is.

So assuming that Broome does indeed leave, then the frontcourt would be wide open for another big man to take over. Former five-star prospect Yohan Traore has transferred out to UC Santa Barbara, and Jaylin Williams will be gone after next season as well. That leaves Dylan Cardwell, who himself is entering his 4th year too.

Coach Bruce Pearl already has a five-star commit in the 2024 class, point guard Tahaad Pettiford. Adding a center is the biggest priority and they’ve been after Bidunga throughout the process. And with Cincinnati now out of the picture, there’s a strong chance that Auburn is going to be one of the final two teams at the end.

1. Duke Blue Devils

The ACC program has become a late entrant into the sweepstakes but now is a real favorite. It was bound to happen for one of the class of 2024 big men since the Blue Devils missed out on landing a center this offseason. So along with returning big man Ryan Young, Kyle Filipowski is also set to play some minutes at center next season.

Young doesn’t have any more eligibility left after next season and the expectation is that Filipowski will go pro, where he’s a projected first-round NBA Draft pick. That leaves just Christian Reeves, a center and former three-star prospect that has struggled to get meaningful minutes.

Among the bigs in the 2024 class, Duke has focused on two targets. One is Bidunga and the other is Patrick Ngongba, who is a rising star that’s approaching five-star status himself. They’ve been after him as well and there’s a chance that they’d have to pick between the two.

In that case, look for the Blue Devils to prioritize Bidunga, who is further along in his respective recruitment. He’s the better prospect right now and they have an open starting spot for him. They’ve already landed five-star wing Isaiah Evans and top-40 guard Darren Harris and this big man would once again give the program another top-3 class for 2024.