Kansas forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) signals the ball going the direction of the Jayhawks during the second half against Iowa State on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

The chants that came down from the Kansas student section in the opening minutes on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse were loud enough as to be unmistakable.

On a pair of offensive possessions with the Jayhawks trailing Iowa State 4-2, first came “Flo-ry! Flo-ry!”, then a more emphatic “We want Flory!”

Flory Bidunga, KU’s freshman center from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had returned to the bench on Monday after five straight starts — three while senior forward KJ Adams was injured, two more as Adams was working his way back into action — and the fans clearly didn’t appreciate seeing ISU center Dishon Jackson set up both of the Cyclones’ first two buckets by grabbing offensive rebounds against the KU big men.

So they cheered for a player who has very rapidly become a fan favorite.

“That’s definitely love,” teammate AJ Storr said after the game. Dajuan Harris Jr., for his part, said he didn’t hear the chants.

After playing just minimal minutes down the stretch in Saturday’s loss at Baylor as the Jayhawks relinquished their 19-point halftime lead, Bidunga entered on Monday after four minutes and 37 seconds — replacing Hunter Dickinson, not Adams.

Bidunga ultimately played 15 minutes of the Jayhawks’ 69-52 victory over ISU with four points, four rebounds and four blocks, a fairly quiet night on which he occasionally looked rattled with the ball in his hands but helped alter a few of the Cyclones’ shots on defense.

Adams, meanwhile, spent 32 minutes on the court, matching his highest total since his critical 33 locking down Cooper Flagg and Duke on Nov. 26, and finished with six points, five assists and three rebounds.

KU coach Bill Self said postgame that he heard the chants.

“And they have a chance to chant whatever they want,” he said, “and I love Flory too and I want Flory to play too, but there was no doubt that KJ Adams was a guy that had to be on the floor tonight because he relieved all pressure from a ball-handling standpoint too.”

To Self, it was clear how much the Jayhawks needed Adams (just as it was to him when he inserted Adams in the final minutes against UCF on Jan. 28) — both in terms of his utility as an alternative ball handler on offense, and in terms of how he helped KU switch against ball screens on defense.

“They hurt us on the short roll once, their first basket of the second half, and other than that I don’t think they hurt us much on it, and they crushed us on it the first time,” Self said.

Later, Self said that fans who get frustrated with Harris or Adams, both longtime fixtures of the KU program, “don’t see the big picture.”

“He can just do so many different things because he’s so athletic and strong and he can hold people off and guard 1 through 5,” he said of Adams.

The senior from Austin, Texas, who had previously played in every game for KU between the 2022 Elite Eight and the first matchup of the season against ISU on Jan. 15, made his 85th career start on Monday night.

Next up for Adams and the Jayhawks is Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday at 1 p.m.