Bill Self spent part of a recent appearance on Jon Rothstein’s “Inside College Basketball Now” doing what coaches do this time of year: thinking out loud about what his team still needs.
Near the end of that conversation, Self landed on the biggest question in the middle of Kansas’ lineup.
“And then, of course, do we have a five guy that can anchor?”
That question hangs over the Jayhawks because Flory Bidunga, their previous anchor, is gone after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and landing with the Louisville Cardinals. For now, Kansas is looking at Christian Reeves and Paul Mbiya to fill that role, at least until the Jayhawks add another player to the mix.
What’s clear is that Kansas probably won’t get the same kind of defensive presence Bidunga brought last season. That isn’t a criticism of Reeves or Mbiya so much as a reminder of how much Bidunga did to protect the paint.
The one certainty at center is that the Jayhawks are going to lean on players who have not really been through a full Big 12 season.
Mbiya is the more familiar face. He played a limited role in his first year at Kansas, but he flashed late in the season against Cal Baptist and St.
John’s, helping keep the Jayhawks steady in both games. Even so, his freshman tape looked like freshman tape: encouraging, but still raw.
The good news for Kansas is that he is not learning a new system. He is heading into his second year under Self, and that matters in this program.
Reeves brings a different résumé. He appeared in 16 games over two seasons at Duke, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds and one block.
After that, he moved to Clemson and put up 36 points, seven blocks and 43 rebounds in one year with the Tigers. He then transferred to the College of Charleston, where he averaged 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 65.4% from the field.
Before arriving at Kansas, Reeves was listed as a four-star transfer, the nation’s 173rd-best prospect and the 24th-best center in the portal.
As for who starts, Mbiya appears to have the edge. Self has spoken positively about Mbiya’s growth during offseason work, and Reeves’ shoulder surgery complicates the picture. Self has said Reeves should be fully fit by opening night, but he also sounded less certain about when Reeves would be ready for full-contact practice.
That gives Mbiya a chance to get there first and make the job his.
Kansas may end up getting solid production from both players, and the Jayhawks could have one of the better center tandems in the Big 12. But the bigger question remains the same: how high can either one climb?
In Other News...
Former Kansas QB Prospect Just Changed How Fans View That Exit
Miami (Ohio) has settled its quarterback competition for next season, and the choice brings a familiar name back into the spotlight for Kansas fans. Former Jayhawks prospect David McComb has been named the RedHawks starter for 2026, giving him a fresh opportunity after transferring out of Lawrence and settling into a new program with a clear path to playing time.
McComb, a redshirt freshman who arrived at Kansas with plenty of recruiting buzz, won the job over returning sophomore Thomas Gotkowski and is set to make his collegiate debut when Miami opens against Pittsburgh. For Kansas followers, it is another reminder of how quickly a quarterback storyline can change, and McCombs next step will now be measured not by what might have happened in Lawrence, but by how he handles the first real test of his career. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Still Has One Big Lineup Puzzle Around Tyran Stokes
Kansas is headed into the 2026-27 season with the kind of roster turnover that usually keeps Bill Self busy well into the summer, but the biggest reason for optimism is also the biggest reason the rotation is still far from settled. Tyran Stokes is expected to anchor the next wave, and around him the Jayhawks will lean on a mix of transfers and holdovers while the staff sorts through a group that still has some moving parts.
Even with pieces starting to come into focus, the backcourt picture is not clean yet. Melvin Council Jr. and Mihailo Muiki remain ineligible, the team is still pursuing more transfer help, and the point guard job has not been clearly claimed. Up front, Paul Mbiya appears to have the edge at center over Christian Reeves, whose offseason surgery leaves his status uncertain, so Kansas may not know its true starting five for a while longer. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Has Kansas Fans One Big Reason To Push Back
CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish left Kansas out of his preseason Top 25+1 for the 2026-27 season, a reminder that the Jayhawks are no longer being viewed through the same automatic-contender lens they carried for so long under Bill Self. It is the kind of omission that stands out for a program with Kansas history, even with the backdrop of recent March frustration and some uneven roster-building in the portal era.
Bill Self still has one obvious counterpoint for anyone ready to write the Jayhawks off: the incoming freshman class looks promising, and there is at least a path back toward national relevance if those pieces come together quickly. Kansas fans have every reason to push back on a preseason snub like this, even if the recent record says the skepticism is not coming out of nowhere. [Read more 🡒]