Duke was scheduled to host Kansas transfer center Flory Bidunga for a visit on Sunday. That won't happen anymore.
According to multiple reports, Bidunga has committed to Louisville along with Oregon transfer guard Jackson Shelstad:
Source: Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad and Kansas big man Flory Bidunga have both committed to Louisville. A major package deal for the Cardinals, as the Louisville administration was aggressive in laying out a vision for building championship roster. pic.twitter.com/tyrIC0dZO0
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2026
Kansas transfer Flory Bidunga has committed to Louisville
Bidunga seemed like the perfect fit to potentially replace sophomore center Patrick Ngongba, who is still weighing his NBA Draft decision and could still return to Durham for year three. He and Wisconsin transfer guard John Blackwell had been coveted as the perfect two-man portal haul for Duke.
Bidunga was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year a season ago and is a perfect defensive anchor with a growing offensive game. Losing out on Bidunga hurts. Losing him to an ACC rival that the Blue Devils will have to directly deal with next season makes it that much worse.
There will be other options that Duke explores, including Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell, whom Jon Scheyer and his staff have already made preliminary contact with. You can expect that conversations with Sherrell will ramp up in the coming days.
Duke could also attempt to make a bigger push for Georgia transfer Somto Cyril, though former Blue Devils assistant Jai Lucas is making a major push for the Bulldogs' big man at Miami.
This could also force Duke to make an even more aggressive push to retain Ngongba with a big enough raise to tempt him to avoid the allure of the NBA Draft. With Ngongba's injury history, many expect him to test the NBA Draft waters and strike before his foot issues cause an even bigger red flag for pro scouts.
Scheyer has indicated a willingness to be more aggressive in the Transfer Portal this cycle. This is an unfortunate setback, but these things happen in the portal. It shouldn't be viewed as a negative toward Scheyer. You just have to tip your cap to Pat Kelsey for his ability to close the deal before Duke could ever take a swing.