The Good Ol' Days

Last week, the #1 center in the 2024 class, the Congo-native Flory Bidunga, committed to KU. Bidunga is the third-highest-ranked prospect ever to commit to Kansas in the modern recruiting era. Only Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson, who both some accolades as the top players in the 2013 and 2016 classes, respectfully. Bidunga also delivered an all-timer quote in the canon of KU recruiting—”I see [Self] as a coach who will push me and teach me on the court. Off the court, he is a caring and nice guy. Very funny and a smartass in a good way off the court."

Smartass! Bill Self… the man is on one.

Bidunga, a lefty, is on the short side for a center—he’s listed as 6’8’’, I feel like a lot of people have opinions about player height so just go right ahead—but he plays longer thanks to a massive, 7-foot-plus wingspan. It’s always tough to rely on high school YouTube compilations where high-ranked prospects perform against some random dudes in their region, though it is apparent Bidunga moves well, is an insane athlete and plays with a high motor. In the wake of the success of KJ Adams, Bidunga feels like the perfect prospect for Bill Self’s active, cutting-driven system.

As the NIL era began in earnest, many elite college coaches dipped. K, Roy, even Jay Wright, all of whom had expressed frustration about the current state of college basketball, where selling a blue-blood program was not near enough. Those guys got tired of trying to figure out DMs on TikTok.

Self, on the other hand, thrives in the salesman role—not only does he look the part, but he’s doing work. He delivered Hunter Dickinson despite the fact that it seems clear Hunter had a different preference… doesn’t matter now! While I don’t know the health of KU’s NIL engine when it comes to football—football has so many guys—there’s more than enough money to go around for 15 roster spots. KU is delivering a potent proposition right now—the cash is there, thanks to team revenue + TV money, the visibility is as good as it gets in the sport, and the basketball stuff is helmed by the greatest active coach in college ball. Let’s. Go!

These are the good ol’ days, so let’s dream big. Cooper Flagg… you next?