He was the unexpected star of KU’s NCAA Tournament opener. His teammates noticed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU center Paul Mbiya logged career‑highs: 16 minutes and eight points.
- Bill Self called Mbiya KU's second‑best player and praised his offense and growth.
- Teammates noted recent practice growth and expect more from him.
Paul Mbiya hasn’t had the chance to flash his smile much this season.
That changed Friday night.
While a horde of reporters surrounded the usual KU stars in the locker room following the Jayhawks’ 68-60 NCAA Tournament win over Cal Baptist, several found their way to Mbiya.
His teammates took notice.
Several players, including reserve guards Jayden Dawson and Jamari McDowell, began yelling, “Yeahhhhh!” as the entourage of reporters moved toward the freshman big man. Mbiya grinned in response.
He gave his teammates plenty of reason to smile Friday night.
Mbiya finished the No. 4-seeded Jayhawks’ Round of 64 win with eight points, a career high, adding three rebounds and a block. And now, he was the center of attention.
“I was just ready every day at every game,” Mbiya said postgame. “I was ready, waiting for my name to help my team, give my best on the court.”
In an unpredictable twist, Mbiya — who had logged only 10 total minutes in the month of March prior to Friday — played a career-high 16 minutes.
The Jayhawks won those minutes by 15 points.
Mbiya also earned the praise of Kansas coach Bill Self, who called him KU’s second-best player in the game behind superstar Darryn Peterson.
“He played big. I mean, I thought that defensively he was fine,” Self said. “But I thought offensively he showed that he could play above the rim. And he caught a couple of lobs and made a really good move when he backed a guy down from about 12 feet. So those were all good things.”
Mbiya, Self continued, has “improved a lot.”
“He’s had a really good last month,” Self said. “But that excites me because we’re going to be playing some teams that are bigger than us, and it would be nice to have another big body out there.”
His teammates, by the way, noticed that “really good last month.” Multiple players told The Star in the locker room that Mbiya had played well in recent practices.
Some, like fellow big man Flory Bidunga, believe this game is just the tip of the iceberg.
“When he goes into the post, one dribble, two dribbles, and he goes right-handed, I’ve seen that every day,” Bidunga said. “I’m really happy for him that he could get it off.”
The two have developed a close bond. Both Bidunga and Mbiya are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They often go at each other in practice.
Bidunga said he’s seen Mbiya’s basketball IQ grow quite a bit since the latter arrived in Lawrence in June. And Bidunga believes there’s more ahead.
“I feel like he has more to show,” Bidunga said. “I’m really glad he (had) the opportunity to show everybody what he can do.”
