Colorado Springs, Colo. – AJ Dybantsa walked onto the court at the United States Olympic and Paralympic training facility Wednesday morning and immediately started form shooting while wearing headphones.
He barely missed a shot, then was one of the first players jogging into the film room when U19 USA Basketball coach Tommy Lloyd, also the coach at Arizona, blew his whistle to start practice. The U19 FIBA World Cup begins June 28 in Switzerland, and Dybantsa is ready.
“This has been the best camp, honestly, because some guys are sophomores in college, and just with the elevated physicality and IQ, it’s been a tougher camp,” Dybantsa told Hoops HQ. “We’ve had some battles and we’re just making each other better and trying to gel as a team.”
Before the U19 trials, Dybantsa — a 6-foot-9, 210-pounder — was at BYU, working out and getting familiar with the campus in Provo, Utah. He attended his first service, visited a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been seen taking orders at a local McDonalds and doing TikToks with the BYU mascot, Cosmo the Cougar. “There’s a lot of love in Provo,” Dybantsa said. “Ever since my visit, before I even committed, it’s just been different. I go to class, I go to a local Chipotle and everyone is just so nice and it’s just a great community.”
After his final high school game for Utah Prep at the Jordan Brand Classic in May, Dybantsa first went to Jamaica with Nike and the Bob Marley Foundation to give away Nike basketball shoes, socks and backpacks to kids, then went right to Monaco with Red Bull for a Formula 1 race. Dybantsa is quick to acknowledge that this is far from normal for an 18-year-old, but he’s found a great balance between basketball, school and his NIL commitments with Nike and Red Bull.
“I play so much basketball that my dad tells me I need to rest sometimes,” Dybantsa said. “So with me going to Monaco and not touching a basketball for four days, that’s a break. And for me, I can call my tutor anytime and she’ll help me with my school work so there’s definitely a good balance.”
BYU hired coach Kevin Young after the 2023-24 season, and he and his staff have made a strong statement in the college basketball world with their NBA-style offense and how aggressively they are recruiting the top players. Dybantsa, the No. 1 player in the 2025 class, chose BYU over Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama and Kansas State. Young had a fantastic first season at BYU, finishing 26-10 with a Sweet 16 loss to Alabama. After landing Dybantsa and leading BYU to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 14 years in his first season, Young signed a long-term extension with BYU earlier this month.
Dybantsa is coming in with lofty expectations but welcomes the challenge. “He’s (Young) just telling me to do me,” Dybantsa said. “Just be the same player he recruited when I was in high school. What you’ve seen me do in high school, I’m just going to do that at the college level but simplify everything.”
Dybantsa played in the McDonald’s All American Game, the Nike Hoop Summit and the Jordan Brand Classic — the top events for any big-time recruit — and is considered the early favorite to be the No. 1 draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Several NBA scouts were at the U19 USA Basketball trials this past week and got a chance to see Dybantsa up close.
“He was so damn good this week, it’s ridiculous,” one NBA scout told Hoops HQ. “AJ has a combination of physicality and depth when we’re looking at modern NBA play. He has the potential to excel on both sides of the floor and can deepen a team’s two-way versatility with his length, athleticism and IQ. I’ll be surprised if he’s not the No. 1 pick next year.”
During scrimmage play at USA Basketball, Dybantsa scored 11 points in two minutes and had the final six points in 24 seconds to secure the win for his team. If there’s any question as to who will have the ball at the end of the shot clock or when the game is on the line for BYU, it will be Dybantsa. “You watch Division I basketball your whole life and now I’m going to be able to play and impact a team in a major way from day one,” Dybantsa said. “People are going to have expectations, but I can only control what I can control and I just don’t like losing. I just want to show that I’m more of a leader and we can compete with the best.”
As he prepares to travel to Lausanne, Switzerland, to compete in the U19 FIBA World Cup for Team USA, Dybantsa already is a two-time gold medal winner, for the U16 Americup and the U17 FIBA World Cup last year in Istanbul, Turkey. This is a different Dybantsa, though: His game has opened up and he’s playing more freely. During a closed scrimmage against a local Division II team in Colorado, Dybantsa drove straight down the lane for dunks in transition and was hitting stepback threes. Lloyd was shaking his head in amazement at what everyone was seeing from Dybantsa.
And all eyes will be on BYU next season. The Cougars have a strong nonconference schedule, playing Villanova in Las Vegas on Nov. 3 and Connecticut on Nov. 15 at the TD Garden in Boston, 30 minutes from Dybantsa’s hometown in Brockton, Mass. “That game is going to be crazy,” Dybantsa said with a smile. “I’m just excited to play close to home and against a good team. It’s a game I’m looking forward to, for sure.”
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Every aspect of the Cougars’ team — analytics, nutrition, a rim-and-3s offense — follows a blueprint that Coach Kevin Young installed after six years as an NBA assistant
BYU signed former Baylor guard Robert Wright III out of the transfer portal and the shifty sophomore will pair well with Dybantsa in the backcourt. The 6-foot-1 Wright almost singlehandedly beat BYU last season, when he led Baylor on a second-half comeback and finished with 22 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in the OT loss. “I love Rob; I can’t wait to play with him,” Dybantsa said. “The way he creates for others and runs the offense is great. Him, (senior guard) Richie Saunders, (senior center) Keba Keita, (freshman big) Xavion Staton coming in. We’re going to have a great squad.”
BYU is far from a blue-blood program, but Dybantsa might be the player to change the trajectory of the program. The staff predominantly has an NBA background and the culture shift they’ve established — along with NIL opportunities — has made the Cougars an intriguing option for top players. BYU hasn’t had an overall No. 1 pick in program history, but it is a year away from that possibility with Dybantsa. It also has made 31 NCAA Tournament appearances without a Final Four; maybe that changes, too.
“National championship, that’s the only goal,” Dybantsa said. “If we fall short, then it’s a disappointing season.”
