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After appearing on ESPN's First Take and informing host Stephen A. Smith that he will attend BYU for college, No. 1 ranked recruit AJ Dybantsa spoke with Smith again on Wednesday, this time on his YouTube channel.
The new BYU signee appeared in all-blue Cougars gear with his father, Ace Dybantsa. They talked about his decision to stay in Utah.
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Smith said how kids tried their parents' patience, and Dybantsa confessed that he did the same. As a result, he was unable to play basketball for a month while in sixth grade. In terms of what he did, AJ said that he was not performing as well as his parents expected in school.
"I was goofing around in school. wasn't A's and B's. Month off," Dybantsa said. (31:58-32:05)
This led Smith to turn his attention to Ace Dybantsa, who revelated that while his son loves basketball nowadays, he did not before.
"He didn't like before," Ace said. "Ask him, he never loved basketball. I have to force his a**, forgive my French." (32:23-32:34)
AJ Dybantsa desires to play in the NBA as soon as possible. He chose BYU because he believed that head coach Kevin Young and his staff, all of whom have NBA experience, would guide him well.
However, because of this goal, Dybantsa is expected to be a one-and-done for BYU next year. He is expected to enter the 2026 NBA draft. Many analysts project he would be the No. 1 draft pick that year.
AJ Dybantsa finally meets his favorite player Kevin Durant
During his big BYU commitment reveal, AJ Dybantsa said that his favorite player of all time is Kevin Durant. Last Friday, during the Utah Jazz vs. Phoenix Suns game in Salt Lake City, he finally met the "Slim Reaper."
The interaction happened before the game, with the Utah Prep star appearing in the front row alongside his father, Ace. The two reportedly spoke with one another for a brief period, with AJ and his father enjoying the game soon after. They reportedly sat behind the basket when the game finally began.
