Darryn Peterson’s Return Cannot Diminish Flory Bidunga’s Aggressiveness

While Darryn Peterson has returned to the court, Kansas center Flory Bidunga cannot afford to be passive in his offensive role.

Nov 25, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) dribbles the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the first half in a 2025 Players Era Festival group play game at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

There were a lot of things to like about the Kansas basketball offense this past Sunday when Darryn Peterson returned vs. Missouri.

The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers 80-60 in the Border Showdown and pulled away late in the first half for one of their best wins of the season. Peterson played an encouraging game in limited minutes, while Tre White and Bryson Tiller were excellent.

However, one standout Jayhawk didn't necessarily perform up to par with how he has been recently. Starting center Flory Bidunga only finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, going 4-for-9 from the field and being shut down for most of the first half.

This was something many fans feared when Peterson made his return. During the two games that he did play in before he went down with his hamstring injury, Bidunga did not look too great.

He deferred a lot of his offensive chances and didn't look to score very often in those games, then showed similar passiveness with the ball in his hands around the rim on Sunday.

Head coach Bill Self spoke about this exact issue earlier in the year, saying that White or Melvin Council Jr. could not be this team's second scoring option. He was silently referring to Bidunga, and that was meant to encourage him to play more aggressively.

Bidunga did just that when Peterson was out, going on an excellent stretch, averaging 15.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. He was often the best offensive player on the floor for the Jayhawks, especially against less physical bigs down low.

Nov 18, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) lays the ball up during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Congo Native put on a lot of muscle this offseason and worked on his post moves and free-throw shooting to make him a much-improved offensive player.

However, he doesn't always know what to do in the low block when a guard is running the show. He excels as a screener and a lob threat, but Kansas needs him to be a more reliable weapon in the 1-on-1 game.

When Bidunga is double-teamed by opposing defenders and he is able to pass out to the open man, that creates a plethora of opportunities for the Jayhawks. This is especially important because Peterson will not always be at his best, like he wasn't against Missouri, and White is not the most reliable scoring option.

The offensive game plan going into games has to be to scheme around Peterson and Bidunga, with others contributing throughout the night.

While Bidunga has shown a lot of improvement and flashes of stardom, he won't reach that next tier unless he learns how to play as a true No. 2 scoring option behind Peterson. He will have plenty more opportunities to do so in the coming weeks.