The NCAA transfer portal is officially open, but the NCAA recruiting moratorium runs through Thursday night. But once the free-for-all begins, the Louisville Cardinals will look to capitalize on their big opportunity. The Cardinals will host Kansas forward Flory Bidunga and Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad together on Friday, per Joe Tipton of On3.
“Louisville is scheduled to host two of the top transfers in the portal for official visits on Friday, a source told On3,” Tipton said late last night. “Kansas transfer forward Flory Bidunga and Oregon transfer point guard Jackson Shelstad will visit the Cardinals together. This marks the first official visit for both players.”
Bidunga, the No. 1-rated player in the On3 transfer portal rankings, announced his intention to enter the “open market” and test the NBA draft waters on Thursday. He is expected to draw significant attention from colleges and be one of the top NIL earners this offseason, as he showed tremendous improvement in his second year at Kansas. The 6-9 sophomore forward is keeping all his options open, including returning to the Jayhawks, as he did last offseason after exploring the portal. He reportedly could get $5 million to remain in college next year.
Louisville Cardinals to Host 2 Big-Time Transfers
“Flory Bidunga isn’t just the best player in the portal this year, he’s the 2nd best rated transfer ever at EvanMiya.com,” college basketball analytics guru Evan Miya tweeted. “The only player to receive a higher transfer rating was Yaxel Lendeborg last year. He turned out to be pretty good.”
Bidunga was the consensus No. 18 recruit in 2024. However, he was limited to 17 minutes a game as he was behind Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams Jr. Still, the Republic of the Congo native came into his own this year, earning All-Big 12 first team honors and being named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. He produced 13 double-doubles and averaged 13.3 points on 64% shooting, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks this past season.
Bidunga is an athletic rim-protector with elite vertical pop and a high motor. While limited offensively, Bidunga is capable of getting points off of lobs, dump-offs, short-rolls, and put-backs. However, the 20-year-old’s real value lies on the defensive end, as he is a mobile rim-deterrent and a strong rebounder. He also excels in drop coverage.
Texas Tech, Duke, Michigan, and St. John’s are expected to join Louisville as major players in his recruitment. Jeff Erdman of 247Sports has predicted that the Red Raiders will ultimately win out.
Bob Donnan, Imagn Images
