Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Roster RESET: Kansas Faces MAJOR Transition After Flory Bidunga's Portal Move - What Will Self Do?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Now that Flore Bidunga is in the transfer portal, what does the potential returning roster look like for KU in the 2026 to 27 season? You are locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's going on, Derek Johnson, with another episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Thanks for tuning in to the show. And on today's episode of the show, we'll be breaking down the latest of Florey

Starting point is 00:00:33 Badunga entering the portal in the NBA draft in terms of what the current returning roster looks like for KU at this point in time. Also get into what potentially the roster could look like for KU Women's Basketball. And we'll start right here with what does this roster look like before there's, I guess, potentially more portal movement. So let's start right there. Now, as I'm recording this, I'm very worried that there's going to be another player that decides the transfer between me recording it and it being posted.

Starting point is 00:00:59 But nonetheless, with Florey entering the portal, which I can have every. days if you already caught the Flory specific episode that we talked about kind of the odd timing of it and how I don't know does it become more complicated to bring him back this go around than last year but you look at the current potential roster of players that could potentially return along with the incoming freshman for KU and right now you're looking at the guard position you got Tailin Kinney who will be a freshman McDonald's All-American a Marco Jackson who will be a redshirt junior Jemari McDowell Redshirt Jr., Colorsario as a sophomore Luke Barnett is kind of your sharpshooting freshman who's coming in from Southern California.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Then as far as wings, Samis Calderon's kind of a three-four, Corbyn Allen, redshirted, and then you have Trent Perry coming in, who is this long-armed, defensive athletic freak from the high school level. At the forward position, you have Bryson Tiller. He can play the four or the five for KU, but he'd be a redshirt sophomore next season. And then finishing things up at the center position where no more Florida Badoonga now, at least potentially, again, based on last year, he could come back. Paul in Bia time.

Starting point is 00:02:05 He'd be a sophomore now, and I guess without Florey, he becomes, like if you were just picking a starting five based on who's on the roster right now, and Bia becomes a starter for KU. So that's cool because I think everybody loves him, Bia time. And then you got Davian Adkins as a top 100 freshman coming in at the center position as well. So again, like when you look at it overall, you're talking about what is that, 11 scholarship players, you can have 15. So they do have four scholarships open already, right?

Starting point is 00:02:38 Realistically, there's going to be more, though. Like, I look at the guard position. Marco and Jamari would not surprise me if they're lifers at KU. But given the stage, given where we're at with the transfer portal, would shock anybody if one of those two transferred away. I don't think so. So I guess what I'm saying is like, if you're setting the Vegas over on their line, how many people are going to transfer away? So that'd be like a half. Cole Rosario is somebody who went from a starter to not really playing a ton for Kansas. Obviously, you know, performed well in a very limited sample size at the end of the season in the NCAA tournament, but is he going to go somewhere looking for a bigger role than what he had

Starting point is 00:03:18 at KU? So maybe that's one that could happen. Then you look at some Mese Calderon. It's like, okay, he wasn't really playing or part of the rotation. Bill Self has had some very kind words about him, that he's like future pro and stuff like that, but not part of the rotation. Like, is that going to be something where he's looking to leave? I think Corbyn Allen always thought to be a developmental piece. So I don't know, but also we've seen those players leave before after a year. So that's a possibility. Bryson Tiller with that whole situation with the way that his end of season didn't work

Starting point is 00:03:48 great and just doesn't seem like maybe the best match psychologically with Bill Self, I guess, at times. And obviously, he had the benching in the big 12th tournament. Like, could he decide to go somewhere else to start clean? or could KU decide to say, hey, we'll take you back. But this dollar figure, and he says, hey, this other school is offering me more, so I'm going to go there. So he's a potential that could go.

Starting point is 00:04:09 I feel like Paul Mbia would be one that would come back based on the development he had over the course of the season. And also based on the idea that now that you're losing, Flory Bedonga, it'd be nice to have a little bit of stability there at that position and at least have somebody who's gotten reps for you in a game at the center position back with bringing on a freshman. But I think in general, that means between, you know, El Marco, Jamari, Cole, Samis, Corbin Allen, and Tiller, that's six players who could potentially enter the transfer portal. And I don't think all of them will. But if you're saying you have potentially six and you're putting together the odds, what is the over under you're putting

Starting point is 00:04:51 that? Are you putting it at three and a half? Are you putting it at four and a half? I think somewhere in that range would kind of be the number that I would be looking to. to be like that many players are going to enter. It probably said it at like three and a half among those players. Three and a half would probably be the number that I'd be looking at here. So how many of those guys come back? How many go? And then from there, let's say you do lose, you know, I don't know, let's say you lose three of them, right?

Starting point is 00:05:16 Then you're looking at having seven scholarships open. And I don't know if KU will use all 15. Does it make some sense to say, hey, we're only going to use 12 or 13 or even 14. and instead of spending a little bit of money on the 15th guy or the 14th and 15th guy, just being like now we have a few extra thousand we can toss around on the top 13 as opposed to guys on 14 and 15. I think that would kind of make some sense too. But it is interesting when you look at that roster again, like how guard heavy it is. And who knows if all those players stay.

Starting point is 00:05:46 But KU is obviously very light in the front court, right? You have basically three big men combined. If you wanted to count Calderon, you could add another one there. But it's also interesting because it's like, as we look ahead to the transfer portal, how many of these guys do we view as actually like rotation players for KU this season? It's like, okay, Paul M. Bia, I could see being the backup center for KU. That would put him part of the rotation. If Bryson Taylor were back, you would expect him to, you know, be part of the rotation or start.

Starting point is 00:06:17 It would not shock me if one of Luke Barnett or Trent Perry worked their way into the rotation just because they have like when you're talking about being the potential like seventh or eighth man can you do one skill really well that you can just be a role player in that skill and each of them have that with with perry it's the defense with barnet it's the three point shooting so who knows there but you know um probably more like spot minutes where it's like depending what we need in that specific game like i think of kj adams freshman year when he would be brought in at just different points for five minutes in a game just to try to get you a couple extra stops or you think of like a young Connor Frank camp at Kansas where he wasn't playing every game,

Starting point is 00:06:58 but there'd be some games that he would come in and play a little bit more if he's shooting threes. Like that's kind of the Barnett role. But again, you're not really talking rotation players here. So we're just talking to Bia and Tiller. And then you're talking from the guard position like Tailing Kinney probably going to start with the investment they made there. So now you're talking about, you know, maybe two starters and three rotation players. I think with El Marco and Jamari, I don't know. Do you just expect them to be in the rotation again?

Starting point is 00:07:26 I feel like that's something that KU could upgrade, but maybe at least one of them is in the rotation. But point being, you go through this list and you get to a point where you're like, man, not only do they have a lot of scholarships to work with, they have a lot of playing time to offer. Like there's a lot of potential starting opportunities up for grabs. There are a lot of potential rotation spots up for grabs. And I think they can really focus on getting some really good quality players

Starting point is 00:07:52 into this year. And I think that'll be interesting too with the guys that come back. Can they get some of these potential role players to come back on cheaper deals to be like, hey, I'm part of Kansas basketball, and I can stick around here on a little bit cheaper deal than if I went somewhere else, and that allows KU to put more quality in some of the other spots. I don't know if that's plausible or if not, you just tell somebody that if you're not going to do that, then we are going to replace you with somebody else. I think it'll be very, very interesting. But now that Bidunga's gone, it just feels like it kind of like, we were kind of at a point where it was like, okay, you bring in a guard via the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:08:27 You bring in like starting wing from the transfer portal. Who knows what's going to happen, Tyrant Stokes. You bring in, you know, starting big man from the transfer portal. But now that now the Flory's gone, it feels like you bring in every position at the transfer portal. Like you could have convinced me in a world that KU would not have needed to bring in a center in the transfer portal. If Mbio was back, Davian Adkins and is from the Flory. If those are your three centers, you probably would feel fine with that. But now you basically need every position in the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:08:55 And if we're talking impact players, you probably need an impact player, at least a starter at every position in the portal. Maybe the one exception is power forward if Bryson Taylor comes back. But if he goes to, you're going to probably need a starting guard to play next to the tail and Kenny. You're going to need a starting level wing. You're going to need a starting four and a starting five. That's a lot to do in the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:09:16 And Bill Self always hasn't been the best coach when there hasn't been a ton of continuity. So it'll be a very interesting season, certainly one not short on storylines in Lawrence. Let's get to what potential starting lineups could look like, even though we are working with an incomplete puzzle, so to say, here. And then we'll get to a little on KU Women's Basketball with their roster outlook is heading into the offseason as well. I'm Clea Butler, host of Locked-on Women's Basketball, and this is Mazda's Women's Basketball Snapshot, celebrating the work no highlight reel can ever capture. The NCAA women's basketball tournament Elite 8 wrapped up with the Yukon Huskies, staying undefeated at 38 and 0 after a decisive win over Notre Dame, while the UCLA Bruins rallied past Duke behind a dominant second half performance.

Starting point is 00:10:10 On the other side, the remaining one seeds in South Carolina and Texas will be determined after their matchups against TCU and Michigan, respectively. Next up, the final four is set for Friday in Phoenix with the winner's advance. to the national championship on Sunday. These moments are earned off the clock, those long before the lights ever come on. The sweat, the fakes, the doubt, the scrapes, and coming back for more every time. Mazda puts that same drive into every detail.

Starting point is 00:10:39 Winds define the moment, putting in the work, that defines you. There's more to a Mazda because there's more to you. And today's episode of the show is brought to you by TurboTax. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, The old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient, sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, email and back and forth wondering if they really get your situation.

Starting point is 00:11:02 But this year, you're getting a major upgrade. Into a TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face with a real tax expert, and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax on the spot. And just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve while you get real-time notifications as you go about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person

Starting point is 00:11:22 walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right, head over to turbotax.com slash local to to find a store near you and book your appointment today. Thanks for joining us here. Don't forget and check out the Everydayer Club. Get your first month free with using code March. You'll get ad-free episodes and can join our Discord server, Lockdownjahawks.com. Okay, so what are potential starting lineups for KU now? And again, this becomes very complicated because you, as I just detailed, you could have four like new starters via either, I guess, high school freshman or the transfer portal. Let's just start here.

Starting point is 00:11:55 What if Kansas can land Tyrant Stokes, the number one recruit in the class of 2026? If Kansas can land Tyron Stokes, then I think you're looking at this potentially for like a starting five. Taylin Kinney, another guard. I guess you could go with another wing if you wanted to, who comes out of the portal, who can be a shot creator and shooter for you. Stokes at the three, the four either Tiller or another forward. type. And again, you could go steer into another wing. You could steer into power forward. And then center is, is it flory coming back or is it a flory type of center? I do think what's going to be

Starting point is 00:12:35 interesting is because there are a lot of good centers in the portal, but there are some different archetypes of centers in the portal. You have some guys who are offensive threats. You have some guys who are rebounding and blocking threats. And that would be more of the flory type. It'll be very interesting what Bill Self does because we know he likes to throw the ball in post and get offense. And And they probably didn't get as much as he wanted this year, but also, you know, I don't know. Like, does he want the defense that bad and wants to build it out in other places, right? Now, is there a world where they land Stokes and they decide not to play big? It's kind of in vogue right now in college basketball to play big basketball.

Starting point is 00:13:09 You think of Michigan, Yaxel Lendaborg, who's basically a power forward and has center wingspan at the three. Mores Johnson at the four and a day mar at the five. And those are going to be like three top 40 picks at the NBA draft. So do you steer into that or do you zig when others are zagging and say, hey, if we can land Stokes, we'll play Stokes at the four, we'll get another wing to add with him at the three. We'll get either another wing at the two if we want to copy the 2022 and 2023 teams that had point guard three wings and center. Or we'll go back to the old days of Bill South where it was two point guards and then you can have the two wings with Stokes at the four and then center at the five, right? Those are kind of your options there. Now, if you don't land Stokes, this gets even more complicated for KU.

Starting point is 00:13:54 I think you're looking at having Kenny, a portal guard, a wing who can grade and score, a flexible power forward or a wing or Tiller and then Flore you, you just get all these question marks or slashes or this or that because there are so many questions of who those guys are going to be. And when I look at the roster right now that KU has a potential returning guys, unless Florey exits the portal, unless Tiller decides to stay, there's not many obvious starting candidates on the team. Now, beyond that, what would make for a good bench for Kansas basketball?

Starting point is 00:14:27 Let's start here. How many guys this KU typically play on a bench? Sometimes Bill Self gets to trusting only a seven-man rotation. Sometimes it's eight. Every so often it's nine. But realistically, the nine man ends up turning into an eight-man by the time we get to the postseason. Let's just say, let's say for the sake of it being nine, at least in the regular season.

Starting point is 00:14:49 here um does does i guess like el marco take the backup point guard role or does that end up being somebody else does mcnau'll take the because i think this is the way of you like if you're playing a nine mayor rotation your four guys off the bench are backup point guard or backup ball handler i guess um a bench wing which they didn't really have on this year's roster a bench big man and then somebody who can fill either the the the guard or wing roll or just be a spot up shooter for you in kind of spot minutes, right? I always mentioned like the Jalen Coleman lands kind of role, right?

Starting point is 00:15:29 Where he wasn't always part of the rotation, but he could come in if you needed him and make some threes for you. So based on the current roster, you would say, okay, O'Marco's your backup ball handler. McDowell is kind of your spot minute bench shooter. Mbia would be the bench wing, or I'm not the bench wing, Mbio would be the bench big. And then I guess your bench wing would be either Calderon or Col Rosario. But those guys could both transfer, you know, one of Jamari or El Marco could transfer. And then you're looking for more kind of in the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:16:02 The good news is this. Like, I do think there is a realistic chance that KU only needs to add one rotation bench player in the transfer portal, right? let's say even like let's say one of El Marco or Jamari were to train. I mean, let's say both are back, right? I don't know. Let's say one transfers. And Bea could still be your bench big. One of them could be one of those bench spots.

Starting point is 00:16:28 And then if you're playing an eight man rotation, you only need one other bench rotation spot. And that becomes important because as we just detailed where Kansas might need like four additions. If you get Stokes, three out of the transfer portal. to fill out the starting lineup, at least you're not having to do as much with the rotation spots on the bench, where you can focus more of your money on those frontline guys and really focus on getting the quality, especially for the bench, right? If you're only getting one bench guy to come in, get a quality one over a bunch of quantity. I think would certainly make sense for KU.

Starting point is 00:17:04 Then again, you could say with the way that KU has missed on some of these targets, is it better to bring in quantity over quality in terms of just like, we're just going to take extra dart throws. So very interesting off season, a lot of question marks right now. I wish I had more answers, but that is kind of the mess and the chaos that we're in right now. Let's finish up with little K-Women's basketball. What does their potential lineup look like? Are they going to be able to bring back their star players to?

Starting point is 00:17:29 This episode of the show is brought to you by Fanduel. The tournament has just three games remaining. It's sad. It's still one of the best times of the year, though, when we get to this weekend of the year. Some awesome games should be this weekend. All teams are ones, twos, and threes. And right now, Fan Duel's giving new customers a way to stay in on the action for the rest of the tournament. you get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days.

Starting point is 00:17:49 That means 10 chances to stay involved throughout the tournament. You can mix it up however you want, game picks, futures, or even same game parles or bigger potential payouts. It's perfect for the tournament because every day there's something new. You can get futures who you think is going to win a final four MOP over at Fanduel. You can pick somebody to win at all. You can pick the spreads. You can put together a parlay of a bunch of 10 plus points scores.

Starting point is 00:18:10 That's over at Fandwell.com. Sign up today. Fandule.com. Official sportswork partner of the Lockdown podcast network. Our episode is also brought to you by Robin Hood. What if sports are traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets change the

Starting point is 00:18:33 game. It's people moving the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always knew the game, but never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. Now I can actually take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator. Play by By play, you decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood, now available across the U.S. Download the Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involve significant risk, and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.

Starting point is 00:19:05 Thanks, you have for joining us here on the show. So what about KU women's basketball? It's coming off a season where they made it to the semifinals of the WBIT. I think certainly they're going to need to make it to the NCAA tournament next year. that would be my expectations when you look at the potential star players they could have and the recruiting class they have coming in. I thought those were the expectations this year where they fell a little bit short to be clear anyway.

Starting point is 00:19:27 But now becomes a question of can you retain these players. And this also becomes very interesting because in a world where KU is building this new stadium trying to invest in football, clearly is putting extra investment into bill self coming back, do you have money to retain these players in some of these other sports, right that becomes a very difficult almost juggling act that the athletic department has to do and i do envy them for the difficulty that that is going to be but potentially here is what you can have on your roster coming back so so my nickels coming back is kind of the point guard she would be a senior comes off a season over 17 points nearly five assists per game 43 percent from three 48 from the field

Starting point is 00:20:08 she's one of the best players in the big 12 has been a three year jahawk it'd be huge to get her back for another year obviously then you look at the two I guess Leah Conessa would be the de facto starter right now as kind of another ball handler. Over two assists per game in 20 minutes this year. Not the biggest score, 27% from three. I think that's a position where KU could, if they can find somebody in the transfer portal to be a starting guard next to some I knickles, that would probably behoove them. And then all of a sudden, if you have Conessa off the bench, that just strengthens your

Starting point is 00:20:40 bench a little bit more as a senior. I think certainly they're going to be looking for a starting wing in the transfer portal, somebody who can play the three for them and, you know, hit shots and be a score and be kind of a two-way player. That would be helpful for them. At the four is Julia Davis. And shoot, man, you can make the argument that as greatest of Maya Nichols has been for KU, Julia Davis came in and her freshman season might have been the best player on the team. 20 points per game, six and a half rebounds per game.

Starting point is 00:21:06 She shot 61% from the floor. She was unbelievable toward the end of the air, missed some time with an injury. And it hurt KU. I mean, if she doesn't miss time with an injury, maybe KU. wins another game or two, and maybe they do make it to the NCAA tournament. But that's going to be a big one because after the season she had, she's only going to be a sophomore. Is Kansas going to be able to retain her?

Starting point is 00:21:28 I don't think it's a sure thing that that happens. So hopefully it does because if you can have Nichols and Davis back for another year, that's the building blocks you could want. Then at the five position, they should have a little bit more depth this year. Reagan Williams will be back as a junior and Williams had to deal with some injury stuff too this year. She averaged nine points, five rebounds per game, 51% from the floor. She's got some depth in competition behind her. Tatiana Brown, the sophomore who played a little bit this season for Kansas,

Starting point is 00:21:56 15 games played, continue to try to look to develop. But it's Sydney Bryant, the McDonald's All-American coming in, looking to push Williams at the five. If you have a rotation between Williams and Bryant, I think I feel pretty good at that center position. Maybe you wouldn't hurt to bring in another, you know, rim protector rebounder center if you could. but I think the priorities to me would be adding another guard and a wing to this roster.

Starting point is 00:22:18 And then you look at the bench, Keely Parks, who was a former highly recruited player, she'll be moving on to a sophomore year. Can that be one where she breaks out? Libby Fandel will be a sophomore. Brittany Harsall will be a senior. And then Molly Ernst incoming freshman. As far as bench wings, and who knows, I listed this as bench wings, could this be a starting wing with having an opening and needing a starter here?

Starting point is 00:22:38 Brooklyn Wren, who is a freshman who can kind of be a three, four. She's got good size at six foot three. She's a top 70 recruit on 24-7 sports in the class. Can she come in and start right away? Or is the situation where you want having her come off the bench, that'd be really good depth to have if you can make that transfer portal edition and then those backup centers as well. So actually, it's a couple pieces away in the transfer portal. But if you can retain what you have, you are pretty close to building what I think could

Starting point is 00:23:08 be a really good roster for KU Women's Hoops headed into the year as well. I don't know for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where we can like and subscribe to the show. We're going to do a breakdown of some of the interesting names in the transfer portal who are centers on the news of Flory leaving. So check out that bonus episode later day on LJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Roster RESET: Kansas Faces MAJOR Transition After Flory Bidunga's Portal Move - What Will Self Do?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.