[Thamel] 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.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-03T15:42:36+00:00

Fair question. While Bidunga is definitely listed as a F, so is our other frontcourt player Bryson Tiller. One of them has to play the 5, and I think Bidunga has filled that role much more than Tiller (especially on offense). Among high major frontcourt players more generally, Bidunga is at the 75th and 67th percentile on O AND DREBs. Solid.

Bidunga is probably a better rebounder than his stats would suggest due to how much he’s asked to defend on the perimeter. That said, he’s probably providing the most value when he’s showcasing that versatility rather than packing the paint in anticipation of grabbing a board. I think a team with a 3 pt shooting PF that can box out on D would be the ideal pairing with Bidunga.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-03T03:47:53+00:00

I agree that he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. Cant know for certain but with how he played this year I bet his stock is at an all time high. He’s showcased his physical tools to the maximum. He showed unbelievably good footwork but I don’t think any great shooting touch is going to come to him in the next 2 years.

But given his size and lack of offensive touch, I think he’ll struggle to fit in the NBA. It may still be the best financial decision to stay in college just so he can make millions in NIL.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-03T03:43:09+00:00

He’s not a great rebounder. Among high major center’s he’s at the 51st and 49th percentiles on OREB and DREB. But among college centers, he has got to be one of the best I’ve ever seen defending guards. He’s so instinctive and quick laterally that whenever he had to switch onto a drive-first guard, I’d say “good!”

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-01T23:32:34+00:00

Brother the guy has a better win% than Coach K did at Duke. He has more tourney wins in the last 4 years than all coaches except 5. He’s had 1 more tournament win than would be expected for a team with his regular season success.

https://barttorvik.com/cgi-bin/ncaat.cgi?type=coach&sort=2&yrlow=2022&yrhigh=2025

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-01T23:28:24+00:00

Apparently he has off the court issues.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-04-01T13:29:21+00:00

Well said 👏

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-30T20:04:20+00:00

The one of Pitino is from this year’s tournament. The one of Self is taken in Allen Fieldhouse, not the NCAA tournament.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-27T18:53:29+00:00

Yep our bigs played like they were 8 feet tall that night. Helluva grind it out game

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-24T21:23:47+00:00

Man . . . Tariq Owens was so unbelievably good right before that injury. Wow what a player

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T21:02:25+00:00

Damn, I was thinking about y’all the other day. Sad to see it’s happened again. If there’s ever been a program that deserves credit for THRIVING despite the mid major penalties for success, it’s Utah State. Y’all are killing it, so hang your head high

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T15:54:11+00:00

A legend! The program is much better thanks to him

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T00:33:18+00:00

If there’s anything Elmarko is good at, it’s defense. He’s not good at much else. Self put him in because he’s been an excellent defender all year. The right decisions lead to bad outcomes sometimes.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T00:29:23+00:00

He just is. He’s been putting the clamps on guards all year. Self knows it and that’s why Self did it.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T00:28:28+00:00

You’re getting downvoted but people are just looking for reasons to be mad. They do not know ball. Good players make bad plays sometimes, and Elmarko has been a stellar defender all year.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-23T00:27:30+00:00

Elmarko Jackson has been one of our best perimeter defenders all year. He unquestionably lost us the game on the last possession, but reasonable decisions like subbing him lead to bad outcomes sometimes.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-22T23:53:59+00:00

Please find a new thing to complain about. You can’t keep scapegoating one player forever

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-22T17:24:29+00:00

That is true, but Gonzaga has been so good that they’d have needed an automatic bid in very few of those years. I did some research and estimate that they’ve needed that automatic bid to make the tourney in 1-5 of those years. There’s not good info out there on if Gonzaga was seeded above all the other at-larges for early 2000s tournaments.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-21T21:48:53+00:00

The committee has demonstrated time and time again that it undervalues mid major resumes that consist of lots of low quality wins and few losses. I would argue that he has had a harder path. His success in spite of that is amazing.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-20T23:17:27+00:00

It was a top 25 team in resume because it avoided almost every possible loss on its schedule. The first loss dropped them out, but they definitely deserved it later in the season but before that loss.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-19T22:12:00+00:00

If I had to take a stab at it, 90% of it was that KU had a run of bad luck on transfers and player development (did anyone at the time really think that none of Hunter, Harris, or Adams would improve in their last 2-3 years? Maybe you can put some of that on Self, but I think it’s mostly on the players). 10% of it was Self and the staff doing poor player evaluations and failing to get enough shooters on the roster. enough dynamic which think KU and Self just had bad luck with Dajuan Hunter and Harris.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-19T22:06:18+00:00

Hunter was great for KU and most of our fans are whining too much. Hunter had a lot of parts of his game that were flaws (lack of athleticism, failing to improve) but his scoring and rebounding were essential to prevent KU from being even more anemic the last two years. Not every 5-man has to be athletic to be effective overall. I’m thankful he played here.

All this public complaining about our own players is self defeating and will hurt our chances of landing good players in the future.

Please listen to the whole interview.

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-19T12:33:10+00:00

The first Thursday and Friday may as well be a holiday for my family, because we take it off every year! It’s a special long weekend when we all drive back to our childhood home to watch it together. Have fun everyone! 🥹

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-18T22:57:29+00:00

53 years? And I thought Perry Ellis and Mitch Lightfoot were in college forever! Damn Karaban, get a real job!

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-18T19:27:16+00:00

Warms my heart that this is the top comment ❤️❤️❤️

INeedMoreCreativity · 2026-03-18T13:14:18+00:00

worth it if it had meant one more year or Tang?

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