Flory Bidunga responds to Bruce Pearl asking how close Auburn came vs. Kansas in recruitment

Flory Bidunga got an opportunity to rewind the clock on Monday after a win over Notre Dame. He was asked to look back at his recruitment, one which, obviously, ended in him signing with the Kansas Jayhawks. But other big-time programs were involved, including Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers.

So, how close was Auburn to securing Bidunga’s signature? The TNT postgame show wanted to know since Pearl is now considered one of their co-workers. Bidunga spoke highly of Auburn and appeared to have a great relationship with the now-retired head coach.

“I really love Coach Pearl, you know, as a person,” Bidunga said. “I called him BP. He’s a great dude, great guy. I have to give it to them. Auburn was highly on my top recruit (list) for sure.”

Bidunga played high school basketball at Kokomo (IN), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 18 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Three other schools were a part of a top four before Bidunga committed. Auburn was joined by Duke and Michigan, with all four programs currently finding success. Different schools held momentum throughout but at the end of the day, Bill Self secured a big win for Kansas, now reaping the benefits.

Pearl still found a way to put together a great team after Bidunga went elsewhere, especially at the center position. Johni Broome starred there for Auburn, being one of the best players in all of college basketball. The Tigers also went to the Final Four, falling just short of winning a national championship.

Flory Bidunga enjoying nice start to season with Kansas

Kansas might not be having the most team success, currently missing star true freshman point guard Darryn Peterson. However, the Players Era Festival provides them an opportunity to get back on the right track. Things started well by beating Notre Dame, a game where Bidunga was the leading scorer.

In 34 minutes played, Bidunga put up 18 points on eight of 15 shooting. One more rebounding would hav resulted in a double-double, also adding five assists. Exactly the type of production KU needs while Peterson recovers from his injury.

Looking at the season in totality, the scoring average sat at 16.4 points per game entering the day. Bidunga secures 7.4 rebounds every time out there, while being a good rim protector with over two blocks a game.