Amid stellar season, KU’s Flory Bidunga draws comparisons to Jayhawks legend

Kansas big man Flory Bidunga has one moment in every game where it’s hard to comprehend what you’ve witnessed.

It might be an iconic block. Maybe it’s an authoritative dunk. Other times, he won’t let a speedy guard get past him while guarding the perimeter.

Sometimes he does it all in one long sequence, prompting 15,300 rowdy fans to their feet inside Allen Fieldhouse. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound 20-year-old from the Democratic Republic of Congo is in the midst of a special season, especially on the defensive end of the court.

“We can talk about everybody — and I’m proud of everybody — but Flory Bidunga is the best defender in America,” coach Bill Self said after KU’s win against Texas Tech.

Big men in blue

Bidunga’s play is reminiscent of a former KU superstar, Udoka Azubuike. In fact, Bidunga has drawn comparisons to “Doke” on social media.

And Bidunga’s Big 12 season, in terms of statistics, is eerily similar to Azubuike’s in 2020.

Azubuike that season won Big 12 Player of the Year and NABC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also an All-American and All-Big 12 honoree.

Here’s a closer look at both players’ averages in Big 12 games:

Unlike Bidunga, though, Azubuike is a true 7-footer. And Azubuike played at 270 pounds during the 2019-20 season to Bidunga’s listed weight of 235.

So the two players have/had very different body types. But former KU assistant coach Norm Roberts sees the similarities. He recruited Azubuike and helped develop Bidunga.

“Doke was an extremely powerful, terrific athlete that could change the game both on both ends of the floor,” Roberts told The Star. “Like Flory in some ways, you can literally throw the ball anywhere and he can go get it and dunk it.”

Roberts noted that Bidunga arrived in Lawrence as a better shot-blocker than Azubuike initially. But he still had to develop his shot-blocking abilities.

Although both players grew up playing soccer, Bidunga has the advantage in foot speed, according to Roberts. Azubuike, meanwhile, improved his foot-speed before the 2020 season by dropping 30 pounds.

Roberts recalled how Azubuike’s sheer stature played a pivotal role in KU’s defense.

“Different defensive ball-screen coverages, Doke became unbelievable at it,” Roberts recalled. “He can really move his feet. He can really move his hands. I remember we would play against people and other teams would just say, ‘Hey, we can’t even see the basket.’

“You can’t even see the basket when he gets out and hedges a ball-screen big or downs a ball-screen. Doke developed into a better shot-blocker. Flory is more skilled than Doke, but he’s not as big. You couldn’t move Doke.”

Asked to compare the two players, Self said Bidunga is the better shot-blocker.

“I do see similarities,” Self said, “in (that) Doke was so athletic that he could switch ball-screens late (in the) clock and stuff like that, but not to the level of Flory.”

A similar development curve

Bidunga visited Lawrence on a recruiting trip while in high school.

At one point, the Jayhawks’ coaching staff showed him a video of what his future could look like if he committed to KU. The program has a rich history of prominent big men, from Wilt Chamberlain to Joel Embiid.

A prominent focus in that video? The play of Azubuike, the big man with whom Bidunga was already familiar.

“Flory knew who Doke was,” Roberts said. “We showed him tape of how we play, of how we throw lobs, how we are going to seal up the lane and how they were going to get (him) the ball. Different situations on how he can be effective off the elbows and effective off the block.”

Roberts described both players as fast learners.

“I think all these guys get better after a year,” he said. “They develop, they see what they did wrong, they see how they can develop and they just become more confident in what they’re doing. I think Flory was the same way Doke was.

“Doke was a sponge; he wanted to learn, he wanted to get better. … I think Flory is in that same vein.”

They may play offense and defense a bit differently from one another, but more often than not the end result is the same.

Success.

“There’s some similarities in there,” Self said. “They’re both really good at it (defense), but they were both different in how they did it.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Amid stellar season, KU’s Flory Bidunga draws comparisons to Jayhawks legend."

Shreyas Laddha

The Kansas City Star

Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.