Featured Columnist IVDecember 10, 2024
ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
The very best males’s faculty basketball prospect within the nation goes to BYU.
AJ Dybantsa introduced on Tuesday’s episode of First Take that he’s becoming a member of BYU, selecting them over fellow finalists Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
AJ Dybantsa – the top-ranked prospect within the 2026 NBA Draft class – has dedicated to Brigham Younger College, he publicizes on ESPN’s First Take. Landmark day for the BYU Cougars. pic.twitter.com/8qB64WqtIE
The 6’9″ small ahead is the No. 1 general participant within the 2025 class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
He was initially a part of the 2026 class however determined to reclassify to the 2025 one and get a jumpstart on his collegiate profession. That he remained the No. 1 general prospect in his class regardless of transferring up a yr solely underscores his overwhelming capacity and potential.
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports projected Dybantsa as a future top-10 choose within the NBA largely due to his offense and skill to attain the ball in a lot of alternative ways.
Finkelstein known as the prospect’s pull-up sport “deadly,” which ought to assist him create open seems to be on the subsequent stage. He can rating from the surface, get out in transition and assault the lane off the bounce, and the mix of his dimension and general talent bundle makes him a matchup nightmare from the small ahead spot.
That very same mixture of dimension and athleticism additionally suggests Dybantsa can grow to be a defensive star in addition to somebody who can shield the rim, assist management the boards and get into passing lanes whereas staying in entrance of ball-handlers if vital.
Whereas he shall be underneath the highlight and going through elevated expectations as a school freshman, it will be shocking if Dybantsa finally ends up being something aside from a star and sure one-and-done participant as he turns his consideration towards the following stage.
And that’s absolutely precisely what BYU is searching for with this choice.
The Cougars had been dealt a blow when head coach Mark Pope left for Kentucky, which put the strain on new coach Kevin Younger to shortly set up success. And one of the simplest ways to do this is by performing properly on the recruiting path.
That is extra than simply performing properly. That is touchdown the very best prospect within the nation, which ought to set BYU as much as be a power within the Huge 12 through the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
It’d even set it as much as win an NCAA match sport for the primary time since 2012.
