No. 4-ranked prospect in hoops class of 2024 lists KU Jayhawks among final 4 schools
Flory Bidunga, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior forward from Kokomo (Indiana) High School, has narrowed his large list of prospective schools to four, he announced this week on Twitter.
Bidunga, who is ranked No. 4 in the recruiting class of 2024 by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, has a final four of Kansas, Duke, Michigan and Auburn. He has already visited each of his finalists and wants to announce his college choice before the start of his senior season.
Bidunga has eliminated Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Cincinnati, Purdue, Michigan State and others.
“Flory Bidunga is a physical specimen. He has long arms, broad shoulders and a lot of burst,” wrote Jamie Shaw of On3.com. “He is an excellent shot-blocker, both on the ball and from the weak side. He has natural timing and can get up to the square quickly, even through contact.
“Bidunga runs the floor quickly and purposefully. He can push the break with his handle but does not get too deep and out of control. The jump shot extends out to about 10 feet, so we would like to see him work on stretching that out some. But he has touch as a roll man to finish with floaters and short corner jumpers. He needs to improve his free throws as he gets to the line a lot.”
Shaw noted that “offensively, Bidunga has a good IQ. He is smart in dribble hand-offs and can post wide and deep on the block.”
He added: “If help comes, he is able to find the open man and deliver a good pass. He is a good offensive rebounder. Bidunga is left-hand reliant, but his IQ and explosion allow him to get away with that for now. Physically, he is like a college upperclassman and is already one of the premier explosive athletes in high school basketball.”
KU coaches have watched several of Bidunga’s Indiana Elite AAU games this summer and it’s safe to say the big man from Democratic Republic of Condo is a high-priority prospect for KU.
“Five-star Bidunga is an explosive athlete. The lefty moves in a way that other 6-10 players don’t. He rebounds it well. He defends well and he finishes — with authority — above the rim,” wrote Joe Tipton of On3.com.
Rob Cassidy of Rivals.com sees Bidunga as a standout from day one in college.
“The five-star center is one of the most in-demand prospects in the country because of the wide-ranging impact he has on nearly every facet of the games in which he plays,” Cassidy wrote. “Double-doubles have become the norm for him during his junior year and his rim protection is second to none. Add in a steadily diversifying offensive game, and you have a prospect that seems ready to leave a mark on any college conference in the country from the moment he plays his first game.”
Derrion Reid may visit Kansas
Derrion Reid, a 6-6, 185-pound senior small forward from Grovetown (Georgia) High School, who has visited Kansas State, Georgia and Mississippi State, tells On3.com he’s considering a visit to KU.
Reid averaged 14.8 points on 57.1% shooting, plus 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for Team Thad AAU during the recent Nike Peach Jam. He said he’s also pondering visits to Alabama and Florida State.
“I have a good connection with coach (Bill) Self and the coaches there. They’ve developed some wings to be pros and they let them rock out,” Reid told On3.com.
Of K-State, he said: “The coaches … they have a great spirit about them. Coach (Jerome) Tang’s personality is like no other. The coaches’ connections with their players really stood out for me on that visit. They’re all really connected. It is for real like a family over there.”
He is looking for “a family environment, a place where I’m comfortable to be myself and a place where I can fit in and get better. I want to play in the league so development will be big for me. But that and the connection that I have with the coaches will be the biggest things.”
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 10:08 AM with the headline "No. 4-ranked prospect in hoops class of 2024 lists KU Jayhawks among final 4 schools."
