By ADAM ZAGORIA
NEW YORK — AJ Dybantsa was courtside at Prudential Center watching Richie Saunders and BYU get blown out by Alabama in the Sweet 16.
But the 6-foot-9 Dybantsa hopes that wasn’t the last game for Saunders in a BYU uniform.
“I haven’t been in touch with him, but it’ll be cool to play with him,” Dybantsa, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, said Monday at the McDonald’s All-American Game media day. “Obviously, he was Big 12 Player of the Week numerous times, and what he does for BYU’s squad, I’d definitely like to play with him. But he’s gonna do what’s best for him. But if he comes back, I think we’ll be something special.”
Saunders, who gained notoriety during the NCAA Tournament as the “Tater Tot King” and by landing an NIL deal with Ore-Ida, averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds as a junior at BYU. He went for 25 points and 7 rebounds in the second-round win over Wisconsin and had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists in the 113-88 loss to Alabama.
Saunders isn’t the only key BYU player facing a decision on his future.
Freshman guard Egor Demin is a projected lottery pick, but did not rule out a return to BYU for his sophomore season. He said that playing with Dybantsa next season could be “super attractive.”
“Of course, yeah, AJ is an amazing player. For me, it is super attractive to have a chance to play with him on the same team,” Demin told the Deseret News after the Alabama game. “I think he is fitting in really well to this environment here. He was here today. I just saw him. I said ‘Hi’ to him through the crowd. He is a good guy, and an amazing player, as I have already said. That is attractive to me.”
As for Dybantsa, he is focused on the McDonald’s Game (9 p.m., ESPN2).
“I’s just a blessing being a McDonald’s All-American,” Dybantsa said. “I’ve seen a lot of greats, a lot of high school players I looked up to become them. I’ve watched games, so it’s just a blessing being in this position.”
As for his decision to pick BYU on an NIL deal worth about $7 million, Dybantsa said he was drawn to the NBA background of coach Kevin Young. “All the NBA staff that he’s worked with, Kevin Young worked with, he worked with KD [Kevin Durant] D-Book [Devin Booker], Brad Beal, like guys like that, it’s just hard to not pick them if my dream is to go to the NBA, and he’s worked with the guys at the highest level in my position,” Dybantsa said. “Why not choose him and just learn?” No matter whether Saunders or Demin returns to BYU, Dybantsa plans to get an early start on his likely one-and-done college career. He is a projected top-2 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. “Oh yeah,” he said, “I’m going to campus April 29th.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookRosters for tonight’s @McDAAG McDonald’s All-American Game.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 1, 2025
9 pm on ESPN pic.twitter.com/DjCYtbzwLZ
