Duke will almost certainly be looking to replace its entire frontcourt this offseason with both Cameron Boozer and Patrick Ngongba expected to leave for the NBA Draft, and Maliq Brown exhausting his eligibility.
The Blue Devils landed 5-star Cameron Williams in the 2026 recruiting class, but he's likely to play the four spot. 4-star Maxime Meyer is expected to be more of a project who might not be ready for any real minutes as a true freshman.
So if Ngongba moves on as expected, there's going to be a significant hole at the center position in Durham. Luckily for Jon Scheyer, there's already considerable talent at the spot that has already decided to jump into the Transfer Portal.
The no-doubt top player available made the announcement he was entering last night, while also testing the NBA Draft waters.
Kansas big man Flory Bidunga made the announcement last night, and Duke fans immediately started dreaming of luring the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year over to Durham.
SB Nation's Ricky O'Donnell made a list of the six best landing spots for Bidunga, and he listed the Blue Devils in pole position.
Flory Bidunga to Duke is gaining some early steam
O'Donnell also listed a return to Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, and the NBA as the other five options for Bidunga. It's also guesswork at this point in the early stages of his announcement, and the portal doesn't technically open until Tuesday.
But it's easy to connect the dots that would lead Bidunga to Duke. There's an obvious need there, with Scheyer's defensive philosophy relying heavily on a rim-protecting five. When Ngongba was hurt and missed four games through the ACC Tournament and the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils weren't the same on that end of the floor.
He also seems to be a perfect pairing with the incoming 5-star freshman Williams.
On the potential Bidunga-Duke marriage, O'Donnell wrote:
"Duke will lose Cameron Boozer, Patrick Ngongba, and Maliq Brown to the NBA in the front court. The Blue Devils will need a veteran starting center with advanced shot blocking skills to pair with their newest five-star phenom Cam Williams, a sweet-shooting 7-footer who is super talented but isn’t close to the same level as Boozer and Cooper Flagg the last two years. Bidunga feels like a perfect center to put next to Williams. He can eat inside while Williams spaces the floor, plus he can aggressively attack the offensive glass as Williams launches away from three. You have to think Duke will go after a big name transfer to be their starting center."
Bidunga won't come cheap. The big-man market is exploding this offseason. But Scheyer must do what it takes to lure the Kansas transfer to Durham.