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On Dec. 10, AJ Dybantsa signed for Kevin Young's BYU, with the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class looking past heavyweights like Kansas and North Carolina. He was down to four schools out of the 29 offers he received, so, his pledge to the Utah-based program shocked fans and analysts alike.
With this, Dybantsa became the first five-star prospect to sign with BYU since ESPN's recruiting database began in 2007. So the obvious question was, ‘Why BYU?’
In a conversation with Andscape on Friday, AJ Dybantsa pointed to the NBA pedigree of BYU’s coaching staff, which has worked with Milwaukee Bucks superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“They’re new, but 90% of the staff is from the NBA," Dybantsa said. "Kevin Young coached in the NBA. Michael Davie was Giannis’ strength coach. Craig Manning was Giannis’ development coach.
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“Their dietician is from the Phoenix Suns. The analytics guy is from the NBA. Everybody is NBA something. If I could sharpen myself with NBA guys a year earlier, then it’s going to be better for me.”
Young was an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2016-20 before joining the Phoenix Suns, where he trained AJ Dybantsa’s favorite players, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. When asked why Young stood out to him, Dybantsa said:
“It was basically just the NBA stuff. He said that I’ve done that at the highest level. We can trickle it back down to college and do the same thing that NBA guys are doing in college."
Was coach Young's NBA connections the only reason for AJ Dybantsa's BYU commitment?
While Coach Young's NBA ties played a big role in AJ Dybantsa’s decision, it wasn't the only factor. Reports suggest that he was also offered a massive NIL deal, in the range of $5 million to $7 million, according to Forbes.
This deal will boost Dybantsa’s NIL value significantly, which is already a whopping $2.8 million, as per On3. Dybantsa also has NIL partnerships with energy drink brand Red Bull and sportswear brand Nike.
While the coaching may have been a huge draw, the NIL deal was likely a factor too.
