Kansas

From Indiana Mr. Basketball to Kansas ‘highest ceiling,’ Flory Bidunga ‘feels city behind me’

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12 months ago

March 19, 2025

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From Indiana Mr. Basketball to Kansas ‘highest ceiling,’ Flory Bidunga ‘feels city behind me’

Flory Bidunga won Indiana Mr. Basketball after only playing organized basketball for three years at Kokomo. He has the “highest ceiling” Kansas has seen under Bill Self, who coached NBA MVPs.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Clad in crimson and blue just fits Kansas basketball freshman Flory Bidunga, much the same way it suited him the previous three years at Kokomo High School.

Bidunga leans back against his locker inside Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday and pulls his headphones off his right ear to respond to a question, just in time to hear the word Kokomo.

Instantly, Bidunga smiles.

It’s roughly an eight-hour drive from Kokomo to Lawrence, Kan. but the support Indiana’s 2024 Mr. Basketball still receives from his Indiana home travels.

“I still get texts. I see people from Kokomo commenting on my posts and showing love,” Bidunga said ahead of Kansas’ first-round NCAA Tournament game against Arkansas at 7:10 p.m. Thursday. “I feel the city behind me.”

Bidunga feels much the same way about Kansas, which can afford to ease him into a role and let him develop.

Flory Bidunga from Kokomo to Kansas

When Bidunga enrolled at Kokomo as a sophomore from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he’d never played organized basketball.

But he had elite athleticism, the first thing that his Jayhawk teammates noticed when he arrived in Kansas.

“The athleticism jumps off the charts,” center Hunter Dickinson said. “He can put his head at the rim pretty much whenever he wants. He’s got really good instincts, especially blocking the ball. He’s a really aggressive player and he uses his athleticism to his advantage.”

Bidunga’s athleticism is what endeared Kansas coach Bill Self to him.

Now, it’s about honing that while also making Bidunga a better basketball player.

“He’s got to develop some consistent offensive ways that he can score more points,” Self said. “Right now, he’s a rim runner. Obviously, a lob threat. Scores off of putbacks and in transition. He’s got to get to where he’s a better back-to-the-basket scorer, a better face-up scorer.”

As a freshman, Bidunga is averaging 5.9 points on 71.1% shooting.

Bidunga chose Kansas because Self has a history of molding big men into NBA draft picks, including 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid.

“That will help my future, being coached by coach Self,” Bidunga said. “He has a history with some bigs.”

What is Flory Bidunga’s potential?

Bidunga averages 16.2 minutes per game as a freshman, but his potential has him forecasted as a potential 2025 NBA first-round pick.

“His time in college will probably be shorter than most,” Dickinson said.

Bidunga has shown glimpses of why he’s a pro prospect.

He had a career-high 19 points against Houston, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, on Jan. 25. His 52 blocked shots this season are the fourth most by a freshman in Kansas history.

“It’s one thing to have athleticism, but to be able to use it is what makes him special and what makes him really good,” Dickinson said.

Right now, Bidunga’s focus is solely on Kansas and how far he can help the Jayhawks advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Beyond that, though, the sky is the limit for the former Kokomo Wildkat.

“I think his ceiling is one of the highest that we’ve had at Kansas in the last several years,” Self said.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

12 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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