Tag: AJ Dybansta

North Carolina weirdly pitched AJ Dybantsa on Duke’s success during failed recruitment

Why did North Carolina do this?!?

AJ Dybantsa decided to play college basketball at BYU, but before that, he considered various other schools including North Carolina.

Picture this scenario that Dybantsa experienced: You are the top basketball recruit in the nation and while meeting with the program, the university opts to weirdly invoke the success of their biggest rival as a reason to attend their school.

That is somehow exactly what happened for Dybantsa when he met with UNC, according to a recent profile by Matt Norlander. It makes no sense, but alas, here is what Dybantsa was reportedly told (via CBS Sports):

“North Carolina pitched him a vision of being the next all-time scoring superstar to wear Tar Heel Blue, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and Jerry Stackhouse. They referenced how Zion Williamson’s net worth skyrocketed by choosing to play at Duke instead of Clemson, laying out what one season at a blue blood did for his career in advance of being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, including a shoe deal worth upward of $50 million before ever playing an NBA game.”

That was an absolutely absurd decision, and Duke seemed to troll UNC afterward by posting a GIF of Williamson:

After hearing this pitch, and the whopping NIL deal, it isn’t exactly as much a surprise that the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft decided BYU as a better fit than UNC.

Whoever mentioned Williamson should probably reconsider that for future meetings with recruits.

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Auburn target AJ Dybantsa commits to BYU

The top ranked prospect in the class chose BYU over Alabama, Kansas, and North Carolina, and Auburn.

The nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit made his decision on Tuesday. Five-star forward AJ Dybasnta, who is widely considered a generational prospect, committed to play his basketball at BYU next season.

The 17-year-old chose to stay in Utah, where he plays his high school basketball, over Alabama, Kansas, and North Carolina. Auburn was among his final seven preferred destinations but missed the cut into his final four. The likely top 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft officially announced his decision on ESPN morning show ‘First Take’, where he unveiled a BYU shirt under his jacket after thanking “God for putting me in this position”.

While there was little-to-no chance the 6-foot-9 forward would shockingly commit to the Tigers, his official commitment to BYU still carries a shred of disappointment for an Auburn program set to lose most of its front court players after this season. With Dybansta off the market, Auburn will now look for other recruits to join the current trio of 2025 four-star commits in Sebastian Williams-Adams, Kaden Magwood, and Simon Walker. Williams-Adams is the lone front court prospect in Bruce Pearl’s 2025 class.

As for BYU, the Cougars have seemingly re-loaded after losing head coach Mark Pope to Kentucky and a plethora of players to the transfer portal last season. Along with Dybantsa, BYU has signed top 25 prospect Xavion Staton along with four-star power forward Chamberlain Burgess.

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Auburn target AJ Dybansta moves up commitment timeline

The Auburn target recently told ESPN he expects his decision to come before the calendar turns to 2025.

The No. 1 basketball recruit in the 2025 class has reportedly moved up his decision timeline after seeing the first week-plus of the college basketball season unfold.

[autotag]AJ Dybansta[/autotag], widely considered one of the best high school prospects in the past decade, recently told ESPN he expects his decision to come sometime in December.

“We are ahead of where we thought we would be. If I know where I want to go, why wait? It’s probably going to be in December. I feel I will be ready by then,” Dybantsa said in an interview with ESPN.

The 6-9 wing forward is currently projected to stay in his home state of Utah, joining BYU. However, Auburn is among six other schools, including SEC rival Alabama and possible Maui Invitational opponent North Carolina, on Dybantsa’s radar.

The Hurricane, Utah native last visited the Plains on March 2. Although the consensus top recruit in the 2025 cycle has made trips to BYU, Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kansas State more recently, Auburn remains in the mix because of the lack of front-court options going into next season. The 17-year-old’s most direct path to big minutes could be with Bruce Pearl’s Tigers. Dybansta’s decision may ultimately come down to which school he feels will help him develop his play style the best.

Speaking further with ESPN, the projected NBA lottery pick said he and his family are keeping a close eye on the way his prospective schools are coached.

“We are observing how the coaches manage their teams, how they react when they have a lead or are behind, how they run their offense, and whether their overall play style matches what they’ve communicated to us,” Dybantsa said.

If Dybansta were to commit to the Tigers, he’d join recently committed guard Kaden Magwood and four-star slasher [autotag]Simon Walker[/autotag] as the foundation of next season’s class.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch