Tag: AJ Dybantsa

Former Auburn star Jabari Smith Jr. is trying his hand at recruiting

Auburn basketball has called on the former first round pick to help recruit AJ Dybantsa and other top targets.

Auburn basketball wants to make the top 2025 recruit [autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag] the top signee in program history. In an effort to make that dream a reality, the current leader is trying his hand and swaying Dybantsa in the Tigers’ direction.

Former first-round pick [autotag]Jabari Smith Jr.[/autotag] spoke with reporters recently, where he was asked about his recruiting tactics when talking with Auburn’s top targets. He says that his message to Dybantsa is the same as his message to other recruits… [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] “plays to win.”

“All schools are going to tell you the same thing: They’re going to give you the ball, they’re going to do all that. But if you come here (to Auburn), it’s going to be more than that. … You’re going to play to win,” Smith said. “You’re going to play the right way; you’re going to play defense. And (Pearl) is going to show the best side of you, always.”

Not only does Pearl put players in the best position to succeed, but he gives the players the tools to succeed at the next level. Smith is sure to mention that in his pitch as well.

“(Pearl is) going to coach you, and I feel that’s the biggest thing — so you won’t be shocked when you get to the league,” Smith said. “When you get to the league, it’s just like starting over. When you get to college, it’s like starting over. You want it to be like that. You don’t want to get to campus and somebody be kissing your butt all day. BP never did that to me, and I feel like that’s a big reason why I’m so humble. I see how he carries himself and how he treated me as a 5-star and as the highest recruit to come to Auburn. He never treated me like that.”

Smith signed with Auburn as the nation’s No. 7 recruit from the 2021 class, and went on to become the No. 3 overall draft pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Dybantsa is the top overall recruit for 2025 class, and is poised to follow Smith’s steps by becoming a first round pick.

Auburn and Bruce Pearl is currently battling Eric Musselman and the USC Trojans for the chance to earn Dybantsa’s commitment. It is unknown when Dybantsa plans to announce his commitment, but his recruitment is definitely worth following.

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Top UNC basketball recruiting target set to narrow things down in recruitment

UNC basketball recruiting target AJ Dybantsa will trim his list of offers down to a top 6 or 8 after the Nike Peach Jam.

At the top of North Carolina’s 2025 recruiting big board is five-star AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall recruit in the class. The small forward plays at Utah Prep and has some of the biggest programs in the country after him in his recruitment.

For North Carolina, they have been involved for Dybantsa for a while now and continue to be in pursuit of him. Dybantsa recently visited BYU for an unofficial visit to check out the program and the campus. He broke down that visit with KSL Sports and revealed that he is set to cut his list down of schools after the Peach Jam.

Dybantsa doesn’t plan to trim down his long list of schools to a top six or eight until after the Peach Jam concludes on July 21.

. . .

“Everybody’s in the conversation right now, and I’ll narrow it down in about a month,” Dybantsa said.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound Dybantsa has 26 offers in his recruitment and has visited Auburn and USC so far in his recruitment. He will take other visits including official ones and if the Tar Heels can make the cut, I’d expect them to get a visit when it’s time.

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Rutgers basketball offers A.J. Dybantsa (the top recruit ’25 recruit in the nation)

A.J. Dybantsa is offered by Rutgers basketball.

On Wednesday, Rutgers basketball offered A.J. Dybantsa, the top-ranked player in the nation.

Dybantsa is a consensus five-star recruit and ranked the top player in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Thursday’s offer from Rutgers sees them join a recruitment that includes  Alabama, Baylor, UConn, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Providence and USC among others.

The talented guard is a potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick in 2026 and holds offers from many of the top programs in the nation. He brings a lot to the table, including the ability to score in bunches.

Last season for Prolific Prep, Dybantsa averaged 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He also added 29 steals and eight blocks to his resume. While he has made headlines due to his offense, Dybantsa also has the ability to be an elite defender at the next level.

He will transfer to play for Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) for his senior season.

 

Getting involved with Dybantsa is certainly intriguing for Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights welcome a 2024 class that includes two five-stars in [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag] to campus this summer. Dybantsa is certainly of that caliber of player.

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Although the college basketball world will be watching what Dybantsa does closely, a decision is still months away. He is expected to pick several schools this summer and early late fall before making a final commitment.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope offers top recruit AJ Dybantsa

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope offers top 2025 recruit AJ Dybantsa.

The new Kentucky basketball coaching staff recently reached out to top overall 2025 recruit AJ Dybantsa, letting him know they were interested. Now, Mark Pope has officially made an offer for him to be a Wildcat in 2025.

Dybantsa is the number one player overall in most recruiting rankings. The five-star small forward had originally been offered by former Wildcats coach John Calipari. Now, Pope has let him know he still wants him in Lexington.

Related: Kentucky basketball recruiting tracker for 2025

Universally ranked five stars, Dybantsa started out as a class of 2026 player, but reclassified to the 2025 class. He has offers from just about every top program in the country, but did tell Kentucky Sports Radio that he spoke to Pope.

He called my dad, I hopped on the phone with them and we had a little chat. When we hopped on the call, I received the offer. I had (John) Calipari first, and now, I’ve been re-offered by Pope.

Dybantsa also said he would be taking a visit to Kentucky in the fall, giving Pope and company a chance to sell him on being a Wildcat. Landing him would be an impressive start to the new staff’s first real recruiting class.

Five-star forward AJ Dybantsa recaps Auburn visit

The nation’s top recruit for the 2025 class officially visited the Plains on Saturday. Did Auburn boost its chances of signing him?

The nation’s No. 1 recruit for the 2025 cycle is raving about his recent official visit to Auburn.

[autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag], a small forward from Needham, Massachusetts, visited Auburn last weekend and had plenty of great things to say about the coaches, campus, and the environment of Neville Arena.

Following his visit, he spoke with Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live about the family atmosphere of Auburn’s game against Mississippi State and the family environment that Auburn presents by simply saying “I love it here.”

Although classified as a small forward, Dybantsa wants to transition to guard in college. He feels that Bruce Pearl and the Auburn coaching staff will develop him into a solid guard once he decides to turn pro.

“They were saying that if I came here, they would play me a lot at the wing, the 2-guard,” Dybantsa tells On3. “I’d be a scorer and a playmaker. That’s what I’m trying to do at the next level, so that’s why I’m considering (Auburn).”

Dybantsa has already visited USC and plans to take more visits this fall. He tells Lee that he wants to attend school with a family atmosphere and play for a coach who will not “sugarcoat” things. Dybantsa has found both factors at Auburn, which is why they have the best chance to land him according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

According to all four major recruiting services, Dybantsa is the top recruit for the 2025 class. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Massachusetts before transferring to Prolific Prep in Napa, California.

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Five-star forward AJ Dybantsa is on campus for Auburn’s game vs. Mississippi State

Will Auburn and the Jungle impress the No. 1 recruit in the nation on Saturday?

Auburn basketball is playing a key SEC game Saturday against Mississippi State and the top recruit of the 2025 cycle will be in the building to witness the game firsthand.

Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live reports that [autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag], a five-star guard from Prolific Prep in Windsor, California by way of Needham, Massachusetts, is on campus to watch the Tigers take on the Bulldogs at Neville Arena. According to Lee, Dybantsa arrived Friday and plans to stay through Sunday.

Dybantsa is the unanimous No. 1 overall recruit for the 2025 class, as all four major recruiting outlets (On3, 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals) have him at the top. Dybantsa is classified as a forward but wants to transition to a guard in college. He tells On3’s Jamie Shaw that Auburn has a great chance of developing him into the type of guard he wants to be.

“(Auburn is) a guard school and I want to be a guard,” Dybantsa said. “If they can get me the guard skills that I want, it would be a good fit. I feel like I can playmake. If I can get a couple of people around me that can shoot and a couple of bigs, that could open up a lot more for everyone.”

According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Auburn holds a slight edge over USC by holding a 46.7% chance of earning his signature. This weekend’s visit will go a long way in boosting the Tigers’ odds of landing him, as they are battling USC and Kentucky on the recruiting trail for Dybantsa.

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AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class, has set an official visit to Auburn

AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 basketball player in the 2025 recruiting cycle, has scheduled an official visit to Auburn.

[autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag] is the No. 1 player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and is a major target for [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]. The Tigers extended him an offer on Aug. 31, 2023, and ever since then have been working to get him on campus for a visit.

That work has paid off as he will be officially visiting on March 2, according to a report from Travis Branham of 247Sports. The Tigers are set to host Mississippi State that weekend.

Dybantsa also shared why he is interested in Auburn.

“I am trying to be a guard and Bruce Pearl produces a lot of guards for the NBA so I am going to take a visit there and see how it goes. He’s a hard coach and I can take hard coaching. I know a couple of people committed there and that is going there right now.”

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound small forward is from Massachusetts but plays his high school ball at Napa Prolific Prep in California. Despite reclassifying from the 2026 cycle, he is still the top prospect in the 2025 cycle due to his ability to do nearly everything on the offensive end at a high level and guard multiple positions defensively.

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AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 2025 prospect, is ‘excited’ to visit Auburn

Auburn is firmly in the mix for AJ Dybantsa, one of the best high school players, regardless of class.

[autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag] is the consensus top player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] has Auburn in the mix to land the talented wing.

Dybantsa recently spoke with On3’s Jamie Shaw about his recruitment and his upcoming visits, one of which will be to the Plains sometime in March.

“I’m excited to get there and see what they have to offer,” Dybantsa said of the visit. “Obviously, they’re going to be on my top list of schools so I want to go on an official there to see everything they have to offer. They’re a guard school, and I am a guard. I spoke with Coach Pearl right after I reclassified. He pretty much just told me they are going to recruit me hard. Aden (Holloway) goes there, he went to Prolific. I’ve seen a little bit of them this year, and they play hard and let their guards run the show.”

The 6-foot-8 small forward is from Massachusetts but plays his high school ball at Napa Prolific Prep in California.

Originally a member of the 2026 recruiting cycle, he reclassified to 2025 and remained the top prospect due to his ability to do nearly everything on the offensive end at a high level and guard multiple positions defensively.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

‘Why wait?’ Top prospect AJ Dybantsa reclassifies from 2026 to 2025

AJ Dybantsa, the top player in the class of 2026, reclassified to 2025 with his eye set on accelerated recruitment.

AJ Dybantsa, who had previously been considered the top prospect in the class of 2026, announced on Wednesday that he has reclassified to the class of 2025.

Dybantsa tweeted a graphic announcing his decision and appeared on 247Sports’ show on CBS to speak about the news.

“To speed up my recruitment — it was in my head already that I wanted to reclassify, so why wait when I could explore different colleges, different routes right now instead of waiting until June 15?” he said to the outlet.

The Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) small forward added that he had previously reclassified down in a previous year, so this jump puts him back in his proper age group.

Dybantsa told 247Sports he is leaning toward attending college but “all of the options are open right now.”

In reclassifying, Dybantsa remains not just one of the top prospects in the class of 2025 but in the nation regardless of class. 247Sports ranked him at No. 1 in his new class, ahead of star power forward Cameron Boozer, who over summer was ranked ahead of even Cooper Flagg before Flagg had an elite summer and reclassified to 2024.

Dybantsa, listed at 6-foot-9 and 200 pounds, worked out with a variety of NBA players over summer, including  LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. He also attended Jayson Tatum’s camp.

With this experience, he’s accelerating his recruitment timeline and will begin the process in earnest. Already holding 14 collegiate offers, more should flow soon.

Steph Curry works out with top high school prospects at Curry Camp

Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Dylan Harper and other top high school prospects worked out with Steph Curry at his eighth annual camp.

For the eighth year, Steph Curry hosted some of the nation’s top high school prospects at his annual Curry Camp. However, the Golden State Warriors star point guard didn’t just sit back and host.

The two-time Most Valuable Player was out on the floor and worked out with top prospects Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper and others. Curry was running the floor and launching his signature jumper from beyond the arc.

Watch @JamesBurnes8 on Twitter:

During one of the scrimmages, Curry yelled “boom” as the ball was in the air before it swished through the net.

Via @ChazNBA on Twitter:

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