By SAM LANCE
MURRAY, KENTUCKY — The top prospect in the 2025 class and projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, A.J. Dybantsa, is nearing his college decision.
“Before Christmas,” Dybantsa said of his timeline.
This weekend in Kentucky at a Grind Session event, Dybantsa showcased his talents while leading Utah Prep. He had 31 points on Friday against Dream City Christian and followed that with a 28-point game on Saturday against Prolific Prep and Kansas commit Darryn Peterson. Both games resulted in close losses for Utah Prep.
AJ Dybantsa tonight against Prolific Prep:
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) December 8, 2024
28 PTS | 8 REB | 6 AST | 4 STL pic.twitter.com/rSUMHncd3U
Two assistant coaches were in Murray to watch Dybantsa play. Alabama’s Preston Murphy caught Friday’s game, while Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend was courtside on Saturday night.
With that, here’s Dybantsa’s breakdown of each school in the top four:
Kansas: “Great school. Bill Self is a great coach and has sent a lot of guys to the league. When I went on my visit I like what they presented to me. He just sees me as more of like what Andrew Wiggins did. Obviously, times have changed. But he thinks I can be one of those guys.”
North Carolina: “Hubert [Davis] — having an iffy season right now — but their past, you can’t really beat it. I think they have the top three most guys drafted of all-time.”
On his role at UNC: “Big guard, playing wing. Playing on the ball, playing off the ball. A lot of things.”
Alabama: “Obviously, that was by far the best football game I went to on my visits. I mean, it’s Alabama. They had 110,000. So it was a great environment. Preston does most of the talking with me since I knew him, had a long relationship. Obviously, I know Derrion [Reid] is there right now, so just trying to have me play a bigger role than him, but similar to him right now.”
On the similarities with Brandon Miller: “Yeah, on my visit they were comparing my game to his. And I would come in and do that.”
BYU: “Kevin Young, coming from the NBA, I think that’s what he’s trying to do to this program. So that’s why I put them in my top four.”
On Egor Demin’s breakout season: “When I was on my visit, he was trying to put me in concepts where Egor would be at. So that was the biggest thing.”
Dybantsa said he is looking into how the teams are playing this season to make a decision.
“I’m definitely watching all four schools that are playing,” Dybantsa said. “I mean, I’m going to be playing in that system. So just watching what they do and what guys my size, my position do.”
The elite forward has an NIL Valuation of $2.7 million via On3. He’s recently signed a deal with Red Bull and hopes to continue the partnership as his career moves forward.
With the recruitment coming to a close, Ace Dybantsa, A.J.’s father, is happy it’s almost over.
“Hopefully he will make up his mind by next week or sometime and focus on basketball,” Ace said.
Read here for more from Ace on A.J.’s recruitment as he nears a decision.
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