Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
No. 1 hoops prospect AJ Dybantsa visits BYU, draws comps to Kevin Durant, Devin Booker
By ADAM ZAGORIAAJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2025 and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, visited BYU this weekend.
The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa attends Utah Prep so he didn’t have to travel far for his latest official visit. He also took an unofficial to BYU in June.
“It’s everything run like an NBA program over there,” Ace Dybantsa, AJ’s father, previously told ZAGSBLOG. “So seeing what they’re going to have.”
In the video below, BYU head coach Kevin Young, the former Phoenix Suns associate head coach, can be seen comparing Dybantsa to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, saying, “A guy like you or Kevin or Book.”
Dybantsa has previously visited Alabama (Sept. 27-29), North Carolina (Sept. 20-22),Kansas (Sept. 6-8) and Kansas State (Aug. 30-Sept. 1).
Dybantsa’s recruitment may be the most up in the air for a top prospect in recent memory. It’s really hard to tell which way this one is leaning.
Alabama has the best relationship-in with assistant coach Preston Murphy being Dybantsa’s former AAU coach with Expressions Elite. And Dybantsa visited Bama while seeing one of the greatest college football games/atmospheres in recent memory.
BYU is in great position, receiving an unofficial visit and getting Dybantsa’s last official. Kansas State had a great visit to kick things off and has been in hot pursuit. Ace said the Kansas visit went “great,”.
Recently, Dybantsa canceled his official visit to Baylor, and his father said it would be “postponed.” With all this being said, ZAGSBLOG could see Dybantsa picking any of his finalists, minus Baylor if that visit doesn’t end up being rescheduled. This recruitment is far from over before a decision in February.
Meantime, Dybantsa recently played both golf and tennis with BYU commit and prep star Kihei Akina.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
