Paul Mbiya’s Moment: How a Freshman’s One-Second Impact Helped Seal a Kansas Win
Paul Mbiya has barely cracked the Kansas rotation this season, but in just over one second of game time last Saturday, the freshman center made his presence felt in a way that mattered most: helping the Jayhawks close out a gritty overtime win on the road against N.C. State.
With 1.1 seconds left in overtime and Kansas clinging to a one-point lead, Mbiya - all 7 feet of him, with a wingspan that stretches a ridiculous 7-foot-8 - checked in for a very specific task. His job?
Disrupt the inbound pass. And he did just that.
N.C. State’s Quadir Copeland, looking for a lob, was forced to pivot and settle for a tough, contested three-point attempt by Darrion Williams.
The shot missed, and Kansas walked away with a hard-earned win.
“It was exciting,” Mbiya said on a KU pregame radio show earlier this week. “They was talking trash to me, so I was like, OK, check into the game. I was just enjoying the moment, and we get a W, so I was really happy for that.”
That trash talk? It wasn’t random.
Mbiya had originally signed with N.C. State after a strong showing in France’s under-21 league, where he averaged a double-double.
But things shifted - as Kansas head coach Bill Self later explained - due to NIL complications, and Mbiya reopened his recruitment. On June 25, he committed to Kansas instead.
So when he stepped onto the floor in Raleigh, even for just over a second, it wasn’t just a defensive substitution - it was personal.
A Work in Progress, with Big Potential
Mbiya’s role with Kansas this season has been limited, but that’s less about his potential and more about the team’s loaded frontcourt and demanding nonconference schedule. With Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller, and Tre White leading the way, minutes have been hard to come by for reserves. Mbiya has appeared in nine games, logging four minutes or fewer in seven of them.
Still, Kansas has used him strategically - primarily as a rim protector and rebounder when Bidunga or Tiller are in foul trouble. And while his impact hasn’t always shown up in the box score, he’s had a few moments that hint at what he could become.
One of those came against Tennessee in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.
In a high-stakes matchup, Mbiya scored the go-ahead bucket - his first career field goal - after scooping up a loose ball and calmly laying it in. He added another basket this week, banking in a hook shot during KU’s blowout win over Towson.
He’s still raw, still learning, but the foundation is there - and it’s built on size, athleticism, and a willingness to embrace the grind.
From Kinshasa to Lawrence
Mbiya’s basketball journey has been anything but conventional. Born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he didn’t even start playing the sport until he was 17.
Before that, he was a soccer player - a striker, to be specific. His size and athleticism eventually led him to the NBA Academy in Senegal, where he began developing his basketball skills.
Now in his fourth year playing the sport, Mbiya is still learning the nuances of the college game. But he’s in the right place to do it, surrounded by talent and guided by one of the nation’s most respected coaches.
“I was working on improving my shooting,” he said. “I was working on getting better. It’s a process, so we just keep going.”
He’s not alone in that journey. Fellow freshman Flory Bidunga, also from Kinshasa, didn’t know Mbiya before they both landed in Lawrence, but the connection was immediate. “That’s actually interesting, I never met Paul before, but yeah I was excited to have somebody from actually the same city as me coming to Kansas,” Bidunga said.
The two share more than just a hometown. Like Mbiya, Bidunga also grew up playing soccer and speaks multiple languages - French, Lingala, Swahili, and English.
They’ve formed a tight bond, along with veteran guard Gee Ngala, who also speaks French. Together, they’ve created a support system that’s helped Mbiya feel at home.
“You can really, really focus on the basketball,” Mbiya said. “My friends, I got Flory, my boy that speak French, and then Gee.
I was feeling at home already, you know? Coach Bill Self is like a father figure for me, so I was feeling (at) home.”
The Long View
There’s no question Mbiya is still a project. But Kansas isn’t asking him to be a star right now.
What they’re asking is simple: Be ready. Be a presence.
And when your number is called - even if it’s for just 1.1 seconds - make it count.
So far, he’s doing just that. And if his development continues on this trajectory, that one-second moment in Raleigh might be just the first of many more to come.