{"id":811704,"date":"2024-12-11T22:14:27","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T04:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/11\/aj-dybantsa-no-1-cbb-prospect-commits-to-byu-over-unc-kansas-alabama\/"},"modified":"2024-12-11T22:14:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T04:14:27","slug":"aj-dybantsa-no-1-cbb-prospect-commits-to-byu-over-unc-kansas-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/11\/aj-dybantsa-no-1-cbb-prospect-commits-to-byu-over-unc-kansas-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"AJ Dybantsa, No. 1 CBB Prospect, Commits to BYU Over UNC, Kansas, Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Basketball <\/p>\n

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Scott Polacek<\/span><\/a>@@ScottPolacek<\/span>\"basketball<\/a>Featured Columnist IV<\/span><\/span>December 10, 2024<\/span><\/header>\n
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\"basketball<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span>ALTAN GOCHER\/Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The best men’s college basketball prospect in the country is going to BYU.<\/p>\n

AJ Dybantsa announced on Tuesday’s episode of First Take<\/i> that he is joining BYU, choosing them over fellow finalists<\/a> Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama.<\/p>\n

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Shams Charania @ShamsCharania<\/span><\/p>\n

AJ Dybantsa \u2013 the top-ranked prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft class \u2013 has committed to Brigham Young University, he announces on ESPN’s First Take. Landmark day for the BYU Cougars. pic.twitter.com\/8qB64WqtIE<\/a><\/p>\n

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The 6’9″ small forward is the No. 1 overall player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports’<\/a> composite rankings.<\/p>\n

He was initially part of the 2026 class but decided to reclassify to the 2025 one and get a jumpstart on his collegiate career. That he remained the No. 1 overall prospect in his class despite moving up a year only underscores his overwhelming ability and potential.<\/p>\n

Adam Finkelstein<\/a> of 247Sports projected Dybantsa as a future top-10 pick in the NBA in large part because of his offense and ability to score the ball in a number of different ways.<\/p>\n

Finkelstein called the prospect’s pull-up game “lethal,” which should help him create open looks at the next level. He can score from the outside, get out in transition and attack the lane off the bounce, and the combination of his size and overall skill package makes him a matchup nightmare from the small forward spot.<\/p>\n

That same combination of size and athleticism also suggests Dybantsa can become a defensive star as well as someone who can protect the rim, help control the boards and get into passing lanes while staying in front of ball-handlers if necessary.<\/p>\n

While he will be under the spotlight and facing elevated expectations as a college freshman, it would be surprising if Dybantsa ends up being anything other than a star and likely one-and-done player as he turns his attention toward the next level.<\/p>\n

And that is surely exactly what BYU is looking for with this decision.<\/p>\n

The Cougars were dealt a blow when head coach Mark Pope left for Kentucky, which put the pressure on new coach Kevin Young to quickly establish success. And the best way to do that is by performing well on the recruiting trail.<\/p>\n

This is more than just performing well. This is landing the best prospect in the country, which should set BYU up to be a force in the Big 12 during the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n

It might even set it up to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a> Scott Polacek<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Basketball Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVDecember 10, 2024 ALTAN GOCHER\/Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty Images The best men’s college basketball prospect in the country is going to BYU. AJ Dybantsa announced on Tuesday’s episode of First Take that he is joining BYU, choosing them over fellow finalists Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama. Shams Charania @ShamsCharania AJ Dybantsa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":811705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124942,3681,139278,32661],"tags":[16302],"class_list":{"0":"post-811704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"category-basketball","9":"category-dybantsa","10":"category-prospect","11":"tag-nba"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}