There’s always that one player you expect to be around a little longer. The one you think still has another level to unlock, another March run to lead, another season to fully take over. For Flory Bidunga and the Kansas Jayhawks, it feels like that moment may never come.
Bidunga entering the transfer portal while also testing the NBA Draft isn’t just a roster move. It feels like a door closing early.
Because if you watched Kansas this season, you saw flashes of something bigger. Not just a good defensive big. Not just a stat producer. A tone-setter. The kind of player who makes everything else easier. The kind of player you build around, not just plug into a system.
Sources: Kansas sophomore Flory Bidunga intends to declare for the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He also intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, as he’s keeping open the option to return to college. pic.twitter.com/KRBPMBB3JO
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 3, 2026
The piece Kansas never fully got to maximize
That’s what makes this one sting a little more.
Bidunga was coming off a season where he averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. But even those numbers don’t fully capture his impact. He cleaned up mistakes. He erased bad possessions. He made opponents second-guess everything around the rim.
And yet, it still felt like there was another jump coming.
Another offseason in Lawrence. Another year in the system. Another chance to turn flashes into dominance.
Now, Kansas may never see that version.
This is the reality of college basketball now
This is where the sport has changed.
Players don’t wait anymore. They don’t stick around just to see what happens. If there’s a path forward, they take it. If there are multiple paths, they explore all of them.
Bidunga is doing exactly that.
And it’s hard to blame him.
But for Kansas fans, it leaves a very real question behind: what happens when the player you were counting on to become the next star leaves before the story is finished?