Kansas basketball camp scrimmage shortened after an injury. Here were the standouts

Kansas freshmen Flory Bidunga and Rakease Passmore certainly looked ready for the leap to major college basketball, combining for 24 points in the Blue team’s 46-38 victory over the Red Squad in an injury-shortened intrasquad scrimmage contested in front of Bill Self’s campers on Tuesday at Horejsi Center, adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse.

The scrimmage originally was slated to end once one of the teams scored 60 points. However the action was halted early when sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson slipped on a drive to the hoop and suffered some sort of left leg injury.

Self, KU’s 22nd-year head coach, told the campers, “Elmarko’s going to be fine,” noting to the campers KU’s medical staff immobilized the leg as a precautionary measure. Jackson walked off the court with trainers at his side.

Bidunga, a 6-foot-9 center out of Kokomo (Indiana) High School, scored the first two points of the scrimmage, followed by a slam dunk off a pass from sophomore guard Jamari McDowell. Bidunga also blocked a Dajuan Harris layup try and finished with eight points for the winning Blue team.

Passmore, a 6-5 guard out of Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, knocked down four 3s and scored 16 points, also for the Blue squad.

“I really like his aggressiveness, obviously his athleticism. (Bidunga) is fun to guard. He is a very talented guy,” said KU senior forward Hunter Dickinson, who had 10 points for the Red Team.

“He’ll be my teammate for the next year. Hopefully we’ll have a relationship where I can mentor him and show him as much as I can. Hopefully I can do (for Bidunga) what guys did for me.”

Of Passmore, Dickinson said: “He was playing. He was ballin’ out there. The coaches were talking about it. He was definitely hoopin’, taking advantage of the opportunity to be out there competing against the guys. I’m excited for him.”

Transfer guards AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen scored nine and six points respectively (Storr hit one 3 and Griffen two) — while transfer guard Zeke Mayo did not score while dishing several assists.

Bidunga, who is originally from Congo, said he’s happy to be in Lawrence for summer school workouts.

“So far so good. The people here are friendly. It’s been great to see my teammates and get ready for sure,” he said.

Bidunga said he’s looking forward to picking up pointers from Dickinson, a first-team all-Big 12 player a year ago.

“That is a challenge going against Hunter,” Bidunga said. “It makes me prove myself. He is one of the best players in the country post-wise. It is good to go against him because I’m working to improve myself offensive-wise and defensive-wise.

“I have a lot of guys here as mentors,” Bidunga added. “I will just follow their path and play the right way.”

Bidunga smiled and said “both” when asked which was more exciting to him, dunking or blocking a shot.

“I love to play basketball and keep smiling on the court,” he stated, asked to identify the favorite parts of his own game.

Of learning from Self this summer, Bidunga said: “Obviously he is the best coach for me, one of the best coaches in the country. I’m happy to play for him and be with my teammates.”

Dickinson, by the way, had a brief comment when asked about Jackson injuring his leg: “I saw the fall, but I didn’t really see what happened because I was on the bench. But it was good to see him being able to walk it off on his own. We’ve got a really good training staff that’ll get him back as soon as he can.”

Former Jayhawks attend camp scrimmage

Former KU guards Christian Braun (of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets) and Tyon Grant-Foster attended the scrimmage and watched from the stands.

Grant-Foster, who averaged 20.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season at Grand Canyon, recently removed his name from the 2024 NBA Draft pool of players. He revealed on social media Tuesday he’d return to GCU for another season.

Kansas basketball camp scrimmage scoring

BLUE TEAM (46)

Rakease Passmore 16, Jamari McDowell 8, Flory Bidunga 8, KJ Adams 4, Dillon Wilhite 4, Noah Shelby 2, Elmarko Jackson 2, Justin Cross 2.

RED TEAM (38)

Hunter Dickinson 10, AJ Storr 9, Rylan Griffen 6, Patrick Cassidy 6, Zach Clemence 5, Dajuan Harris 2.

Three-point baskets: Blue (6): Passmore 4, McDowell 2. Red (6): Griffen 2, Cassidy 2, Storr 1, Clemence 1.