photo by: AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox

West center Flory Bidunga (40) dunks past East forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the first quarter of the McDonald's All-American boys basketball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston.

Future Kansas center Flory Bidunga, the top prospect in the Jayhawks’ three-man 2024 recruiting class, scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in the McDonald’s All-American game Tuesday night in Houston, as his West team fell 88-86 to the East.

Bidunga, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who comes to KU from Kokomo, Indiana, scored on all three of his shots, which were dunks: one on a bounce-pass assist in transition from Rutgers signee Dylan Harper, one on a pick-and-roll with another future Scarlet Knight, Ace Bailey, and one after he set a screen for Harper and slipped inside past top recruit Cooper Flagg of Duke for his final bucket.

That dunk put the West up 82-80 in the final minutes of Tuesday’s game, but the East pulled through late on a go-ahead putback by Kentucky’s Boogie Fland. Bidunga had forced a miss by opposing post player Derik Queen of Maryland, but Fland was able to sneak past Harper for the decisive offensive rebound.

Tre Johnson of the West team had already hit five 3-pointers, but his attempt at a sixth for the win hit the back rim and the East took the victory.

Bidunga had the defensive stop against Queen and also an athletic block on him earlier in the game, but Queen finished as the game’s leading scorer with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes. Harper led the West with 22 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Bidunga started the game but played just over 18 minutes as each of the game’s 23 participants took the floor for at least 11 minutes.

photo by: AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox

West center Flory Bidunga (40) defends East guard Drake Powell (9) during the fourth quarter of the McDonald’s All-American boys basketball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston.

Liam McNeeley, a 6-foot-8 wing from Richardson, Texas, who plays for Florida’s Montverde Academy, had picked Indiana over KU earlier in his recruiting process but decommitted on March 7. While KU appeared the initial favorite to secure his services after that move, McNeeley said earlier in the week that he is being recruited not just by the Jayhawks but also by the likes of Houston, Kentucky, Michigan and UConn.

McNeeley went 0-for-6 from the field at the McDonald’s game and finished with two points and four rebounds in 12 minutes.

Bidunga is the 51st Kansas player to become a McDonald’s All-American. If KU were eventually able to secure the services of McNeeley, he would become the 52nd. Current Jayhawk Elmarko Jackson played in last year’s game.

photo by: AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox

West guard Karter Knox (21) scores past East forward Liam McNeeley (30) during the first quarter of the McDonald’s All-American boys basketball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston.

Rakease Passmore and Labaron Philon are KU’s other incoming freshmen signees besides Bidunga.

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