photo by: AP Photo/Lucas Peltier

Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (40) celebrates after defeating Duke during an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas.

The Kansas men’s basketball team will in fact have some returning production next season after all.

Center Flory Bidunga is coming back to KU following his promising freshman season, his guardian Dillon Craft confirmed to the Journal-World on Sunday.

The news came eight days after his intentions to enter the transfer portal became known — though Craft had always suggested staying in Lawrence was an option — and followed a week in which, as reported by 247Sports and others, Auburn and a return to KU emerged as the two possible outcomes for the Congolese center.

The result may be the biggest single offseason move for the Jayhawks to this point. They get to bring back a former five-star recruit who flashed immense potential, particularly in a string of late-January games when he stepped into the starting lineup for an injured KJ Adams, and was one of the Big 12’s best shot blockers at such an early stage of his career. He averaged 5.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just 16.2 minutes per game as a freshman.

Bidunga was also the player incoming five-star guard Darryn Peterson had said he was most excited to play with at KU. Now, the two will actually get the chance to share the court.

And a potential lineup is beginning to take shape around them, with the recent commitments of Loyola-Chicago transfer guard Jayden Dawson on Friday and Illinois transfer wing Tre White on Saturday.

Also returning for KU along with Bidunga are guards Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell and Noah Shelby (a walk-on last season), and the rest of Peterson’s freshman class includes Samis Calderon and Bryson Tiller (the latter already on campus last semester).

Still in the transfer portal are Zach Clemence, Rakease Passmore, David Coit, Rylan Griffen and the most recent departure, AJ Storr.