Tag: A.J. Dybantsa

Analyst names visit to UNC among most important in college basketball recruiting this fall

A.J. Dybantsa’s visit to the UNC basketball program this month will be very important.

The next few months will be busy for the North Carolina Tar Heels’ basketball program not only preparing for the upcoming season but hosting recruits on visits as well. The Tar Heels have a few big visits set up for top recruits in future classes beginning this weekend for the home football opener.

But one visit in September could play a major factor in the top overall recruit’s decision.

Top recruit A.J. Dybantsa is set to make visits this fall, including to North Carolina on November 20th. All indications are that in-state BYU is the team to beat in the recruitment for Dybatsa. But could UNC change things?

Rivals.com reporter Rob Cassidy listed the five most important visits in all of college basketball this fall and at No. 2 was Dybantsa’s visit to UNC. Here is why:

Why it’s important: BYU is seen as the slight front-runner to eventually land Dybantsa, but this sort of high-profile recruitment never unfolds without a bit of late drama.

If anyone can create such drama in this instance, North Carolina might just be the program. Not only are the Tar Heels heavy-hitters with a history of placing top-flight players in the draft, Hubert Davis’ program has the NIL backing and roster construction that could temp the five-star. The Tar Heels also boast a campus that is closer to Dybantsa’s Massachusetts home than any of his other finalists, which certainly can’t hurt.

Point is, somebody is going to push BYU down the stretch and depending on how the mega-prospect’s trip to Chapel Hill goes, it may well be the Tar Heels.

That’s pretty significant.

The Tar Heels’ position in this recruitment is still unknown but reading that they could push BYU down the stretch is important. Let’s hope the Tar Heels can impress him this month and make a strong push to land him.

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Lucky 7: Nation’s top recruit A.J. Dybantsa cuts down list of possible schools

A.J. Dybantsa is down to seven schools.

The top basketball recruit in the nation cut down his list on Friday with A.J. Dybantsa now locked in on seven schools.

Dybantsa, who is a five-star recruit and the consensus top player in the nation, is down to a final seven of Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina. He transferred into the class of 2025 last October (Dybantsa was originally a class of 2026 recruit).

A number of top programs were left out of Dybantsa’s top seven including Arkansas, UConn, Duke, Georgetown, Illinois, Kentucky, Providence and South Carolina among others.

He is a 6-foot-9 forward who just transferred to Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) in May.

Dybantsa is unstoppable in transition. While he is explosive in getting to the rim, he is smart and balanced in his shot selection and effective in drawing contact in the lane.

 

He handles the ball well and effectively for his size. He is fluid in his moment and has a very nice outside shot.

Defensively, he does a good job in getting rebounds and challenging shots.

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Kentucky basketball is out of the running for the top recruit of 2025

A.J. Dybantsa is no longer consider Kentucky basketball after narrowing down his list.

A.J. Dybantsa, a five-star small forward has cut his list to seven schools and will no longer consider Kentucky. His list includes: Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina.

Dybantsa announced his finalists on Friday with ESPN.

“I’m looking to build a relationship with a head coach who doesn’t sugarcoat anything, but we can still have that bond both on and off the court,” he said. “[We can] talk about things on and off the court and play to my strengths while helping me with my weaknesses. The list is based on the coaches who spoke with my dad the most. I will decide in February.”

Related: Kentucky gets prediction to land Malachi Moreno

Dybantsa, who has visited Auburn, says he plans to make official visits to the rest of the schools on his list ahead of his college decision in the winter.

Earlier this summer, Dybantsa recapped his visits to Auburn and BYU with 247Sports analyst Dushawn London.

“My BYU unofficial was good,” said Dybantsa. “I was already in Utah, so I might as well take that visit since it’s right up the street. On the visit, Coach Kevin Young went through a brief vision of what he sees me as. He told me about his NBA background and some of the guys that he’s coached and thinks I play similar to. He said if I were to go on an official, he’ll go deeper into context.”

No. 1 basketball recruit A.J. Dybantsa set to change schools

A.J. Dybantsa makes a high school change.

A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 basketball recruit in the class of 2025, is set to make a high school switch for his senior season.

According to reports, Dybantsa will be attending Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) for his final year of high school basketball. The five-star forward will play for L.J. Yamzon, the head coach at Utah Prep.

He had previously been at Prolific Prep (Napa, California). Dybantsa is the top-ranked player in the ESPN 100. This month in the Nike EYBL, Dybantsa is backing up all the hype, averaging 23.7 points along with 5.7 rebounds per game.

A 6-foot-7 forward, Dybantsa holds offers from Alabama, Baylor, UConn, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Providence and USC among others. He is being talked about as a potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

 

The academic dean at Utah Prep is Sam Gibbs, who comes to the school following his time spent with MLS club Real Salt Lake. Gibbs was in charge of the academics for Real Salt Lake’s academy, a developmental system that is considered one of the best in the United States and pioneered the residency academy set-up in MLS.

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5-star UNC hoops recruit targeting March for next college visit

A.J. Dybantsa, the top-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class and a UNC target, plans to start making official visits again in March.

If you’ve been following the prep hoops circuit, A.J. Dybantsa is a name you may have heard of.

Dybantsa, a 6’8″ forward from Brockton, Mass. who currently attends Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., is the top-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class. He was originally in the 2026 class, but recently reclassified and made himself eligible for the 2026 NBA Draft.

As you can imagine, collegiate basketball programs are drooling over Dybantsa. He already holds offers from traditional powers UNC and Kentucky, plus a handful of strong teams in LSU, Michigan, Alabama and Texas.

While Kentucky didn’t offer Dybantsa until Tuesday, Nov. 21, he just recently made another major announcement – a second official visit.

Dybantsa and his dad are planning that visit for Auburn around March, though a busy game schedule and the EYBL circuit will prevent the Top 2025 player from seeing many other places. Dybasanta said he also hopes to visit Baylor.

Will we see a visit to Chapel Hill in the future? Possibly, as Dybantsa said next Fall is when he plans to pick visits back up.

Dybasanta in baby blue would be a huge recruiting win for UNC head coach Hubert Davis, plus a welcomed addition to a class that includes nine additional five-star offers.

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