KU needs post players after portal departures. Here’s what that has looked like
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas lost post players Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller, and Paul Mbiya may also depart.
- The Jayhawks currently have no returning big men from last season.
- KU previously has found success in players with international roots, especially big men.
Bill Self is certainly not the only college head coach whose rosters have featured players of African heritage. But that has been a staple in the Kansas men’s basketball program’s success in the past decade.
The number of African players in NCAA men’s basketball has increased heavily in the past 15 years. There were only 69 players from Africa in 2009-10; there were 174 in 2024-25, according to the NCAA. The number of international players has increased from 406 to 888 in that time.
The KU center position has been a shining example.
The Jayhawks may be starting from scratch this offseason following the departures of big men Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller and potentially Paul Mbiya, although Mbiya remains a candidate to return. Many of the names in the KU frontcourt over the years, from Joel Embiid to Udoka Azubuike to even Bidunga himself, began their basketball journeys overseas before making their way to the U.S., and eventually to Lawrence.
Both Bidunga and Mbiya were born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Azubuike is from Nigeria, while Embiid hails from Cameroon. KU’s 2018 Final Four team also had Silvio De Sousa, who was born in Angola. Cheick Diallo, who played in the NBA after his time at KU, was born in Mali.
(While not a big man, 2022 national champion Ochai Agbaji also bonded with Azubuike over their Nigerian heritage.)
Will the Jayhawks go the international route in filling their frontcourt spots again?
Of course, the Jayhawks have largely found success with all sorts of players in the frontcourt. Those players have provided length, athleticism, rebounding and rim protection, all key parts of the Jayhawks’ defensive system under Self.
All-Americans in the group have included Hunter Dickinson, Azubuike, Perry Ellis, Jeff Withey, Thomas Robinson and more.
But KU may need to get creative following a transfer portal exodus that sees — for now — just one rotation player from last season on the roster: guard Kohl Rosario. The Jayhawks currently have no post players returning. They have one post player, Davion Adkins, in their four-player incoming high school recruiting class.
KU will be busy in the portal chasing down players to fill the roster. Fans should expect any post player Self brings in to have a certain level of physicality, length and basketball IQ that the KU coach needs from his players.
And don’t be surprised if they’re from outside the United States.
