Kansas Jayhawks forward/center Flory Bidunga has been named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday. Bidunga, already tabbed the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, is on a roll with yet another accolade attached to his sophomore season.
The Abdul-Jabbar honors are typically announced in March, and Bidunga will be competing alongside a handful of other talented bigs for the award: Alex Condon (Florida), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Henri Veesar (North Carolina), and former Jayhawk Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s).
In almost two full seasons, Bidunga’s 138 blocks are tied for 13th all-time in school history with Raef Lafrentz and Gre Dreiling. Currently, Bidunga is pulling down 13.8 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, and 2.7 blocks per game as the Jayhawks look to advance past TCU in the Big 12 tourney quarterfinals tonight at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Bidunga’s presence has been a defining trait of what’s perhaps Bill Self‘s last season as coach at Kansas or elsewhere, as speculation grows around his retirement. The Congo native is slated to be a mid-first or early-second round NBA draft pick later this summer.
Kansas has won two Starting Five Awards via Frank Mason III (Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year, 2017) and Jalen Wilson (Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year, 2023).
