The most impactful Louisville basketball commitment of the offseason came with a catch.
Before joining the Cardinals for Year 3 of the Pat Kelsey era, former Kansas big man Flory Bidunga would test the NBA draft waters.
Last week, The Courier Journal confirmed the centerpiece of Kelsey’s top-ranked NCAA transfer portal class had signed with UofL. Bidunga made it official Monday, when he confirmed his withdrawal from the draft.
Bidunga committed to Louisville on April 12. The 21-year-old rising junior from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was the top player to hit the portal this spring in the eyes of 247Sports and The Athletic.
For good reason. Across 31.6 minutes per game during his sophomore season with the Jayhawks, Bidunga was the only Division I player to average more than 13 points (13.3), 8.5 rebounds (nine) and 2.5 blocks (2.6). He won the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year award and finished in a tie for ninth nationally with 13 double-doubles.
Those accolades would be enough for some to confidently make the leap to the NBA. But in this new era of athlete compensation at the college level, Bidunga’s decision to withdraw from the draft felt like a no-brainer.
Bidunga was, at best, considered a late-first-round prospect in this year’s draft class.
Checking in at 6 feet, 7¾ inches tall barefoot, he was the second-shortest center at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month. His standing reach (8-10½) was also second-to-last. He led the position in both the standing vertical leap (34 inches) and the max vertical leap (40½ inches), but that wasn’t enough to offset concerns about how he’ll fare at the sport’s highest level.
247Sports scouting director Adam Finkelstein said it best in a May 18 piece for CBS Sports: “The disconnect continues to be rooted in his offensive game and correlating defensive position. He was as mobile and switchable as any frontcourt defender in college basketball last year; but, offensively, he’s a straight 5, and there are questions about whether he has the size and strength to body up with opposing NBA centers.”
Then, there was the money at stake. In the same piece for CBS Sports, Finkelstein estimated Bidunga would “have to be a top-10 pick” to match what the Cards are reportedly offering him to join Kelsey & Co. for 2026-27.
It’s hard to turn down that kind of payday — even on the cusp of realizing a lifelong dream.
Bidunga was one of six players to join UofL by way of the portal this offseason. The others are former Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad, former Arkansas wing Karter Knox, former Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras, former USC center Gabe Dynes; and former Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery.
Kelsey also secured commitments from incoming freshmen Obinna Ekezie Jr., Isaac Ellis and Boyuan Zhang. Two players from his 2025-26 roster, Adrian Wooley and London Johnson, are returning for another season.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball signee Flory Bidunga withdraws from NBA draft
