"It was an unacceptable loss": BYU signee AJ Dybantsa opens up about one major loss at the Spalding Hoophall Classic

AJ Dybantsa branded Utah Prep's loss to Montverde Academy at the Spalding Hoophall Classic "unacceptable". Dybantsa and his teammates suffered a 60-74 loss to Cooper Flagg’s alma mater on Jan 19, 2025.

Although Dybantsa dropped a game-high 25 points, going 8-19 from the field and 3-9 from the three-point range, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2025 found it difficult to accept the loss.

Dybantsa revealed this in an interview with BYUtv Sports Nation on Jan 23, 2025.

“I mean it’s always fun playing at Hoophall. I’ve done it for the past three years. I mean it was an unacceptable loss,” Dybantsa said at the 00:05:50 mark of the interview.

Despite the loss, Dybantsa insisted that the team would learn from it and apply the lessons in the rematch against the same team later this month.

“But I mean we learned. That was Coach Smart’s first game. He gave us an insight on that, We are going to bounce back. We should be playing them in like the next two weeks, anyway. So I mean no real losses, just lessons learned,” Dybantsa added.

Utah Prep is 17-5 this season, with their last win against Western Reserve on Jan 11, 2025. Dybantsa was in his element in that game, dropping 41 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and one block in a 99-71 win.

Revenge game for Dybantsa

Dybantsa and Utah Prep will have a chance to return the favor against Montverde Academy this weekend. However, they must deal with Sagemont first on Jan 30, 2025.

Following the game against Sagemont, Dybantsa and Utah Prep will take on Montverde Academy at the Monteverde Invitational on Jan 31, 2025, before turning their attention to multiple Grind Sessions, which are set to run between February 7- March 21, 2025, according to Max Preps.

These games are the beginning of Dybantsa’s last few months at Utah Prep before starting his college career. Speculations over his future are over after the Brockton, Massachusetts, native committed to BYU.

Dybantsa is sure to play at least a season with BYU before deciding on whether to declare for the NBA draft.