The featured article in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated displays the following tagline: "Instead of joining a traditional powerhouse, the projected top-three NBA draft pick chose the Cougars aiming for a program-defining season."
Dybantsa opting to play his college ball in Provo, Utah, was a surprising move for many used to the biggest stars attending traditional basketball juggernaut programs. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, and the like have become proven factories for producing NBA prospects. Brigham Young University hadn't sent one of its players to the NBA Draft since Jimmer Fredette back in 2011, and the four-year senior and National Player of the Year, Fredette, never saw his professional career take off as planned.
For as solid as the BYU basketball program has been from Dave Rose, to Mark Pope, and now with Kevin Young, the university had never seen a number-one recruit suit up in royal blue on the Marriott Center floor.
Be it a tantalizing NIL contribution, Kevin Young's NBA ties, or the allure of a passionate fanbase in the mighty Big 12 Conference, Dybantsa announced his commitment to BYU on national television, his bright-white smile signaling a beacon for the most highly-anticipated season in program history.
Taking an untraditional route has become surprisingly common for many top players in recent years. Last season, the second and third-rated high school prospects teamed up at Rutgers. Eventual number-one picks Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons signed with Washington and LSU, respectively. AJ Dybantsa isn't the first player of his ability to raise eyebrows with his commitment, and in the modern age of NIL, don't expect him to be the last.
It feels important to note that BYU basketball was supposed to be really good in Kevin Young's second season with the team.
In just his first year, Young led the leftovers of the Mark Pope recruiting class to a Sweet 16 finish. That was the program's first appearance in the second weekend of March Madness since, well, that remarkable 2011 season with Jimmer Fredette. With returning talent like All-Big 12 first team honoree Richie Saunders, bench scoring phenom Dawson Baker, and the ultra-athletic Keba Keita approaching their senior seasons, alongside the addition of transfers like 5-star point guard Rob Wright and three-star complementary pieces Kennard Davis and Nate Pickens, Coach Young had completely revolutionized BYU basketball.
True to expectations, BYU nearly took down Dan Hurley's UConn team in Boston in the first few weeks of the season, losing by just two with two key players out with injury.
But injuries would not be a temporary ailment for this edition of BYU hoops. Pickens and sophomore Brody Kozlowski went down with season-ending injuries right before the start of the season. Dawson Baker tore his ACL on a fast break against Miami. Four-star freshman center Xavion Staton sustained a season-ending injury. Finally, and most crushing of all, senior guard and the heartbeat of the program, Richie Saunders, tore his ACL.
Whether fault should be placed on recruiting deficiencies or this wave of injuries, the biggest problem facing BYU basketball right now is that AJ Dybantsa has placed the weight of the season's expectations upon his shoulders. Yoked in tandem with Rob Wright, BYU's three-headed monster lost a valuable third of itself, and doesn't appear to be sprouting replacement heads any time soon.
AJ Dybantsa needs some help, and Rob Wright alone cannot make up for the ineffectiveness of the remainder.
Players like Aleksej Kostic and Tyler Mrus, who were brought on to add a three-point scoring punch, have been ghosts on the defensive end. They aren't making threes to make up for it, either, hitting a combined 32% from distance through the loss to Arizona.
Starter Kennard Davis Jr has been even more horrific from deep, hitting an abysmal 14 for 61 (22.9%) in Big 12 play, where he's connected on more than one three-pointer just three times in 13 games. If it weren't for his defensive effort, Davis would be a complete whiff in the transfer portal.
Abdullah Ahmed, an addition from the NBA G-League (it's a new era), while being a fascinating shot-blocker off the bench, has proved entirely worthless in all other aspects of the game. Scoring, turnovers, and fouls have been scourges on his young collegiate career, and it's difficult not to wince as he gathers an offensive rebound just to immediately cough up possession and spark a fast break going in the other direction.
Even Khadim Mboup, a redshirt freshman whose defensive versatility and competitive drive has viewers taking notice, is still extremely underdeveloped on the offensive end, good for a contested layup and the occassional corner three-pointer.
Kevin Young's hands are tied; he's all out of options.
AJ Dybantsa continues to impress and add highlight after highlight to his NBA Draft portfolio, but 35-point games can't win basketball games when the rest of the bunch are struggling to prove their value at the Big 12 level. Dybantsa, a clear-cut star, and his running mate, Robert Wright III, are two pillars holding up their crumbling polis. Against full-fledged championship contenders (of which the Big 12 contains many), the Cougars are proving to be a tier below.
Place the blame wherever you like, but BYU basketball simply doesn't have the infrastructure to elevate itself to the upper echelon of college basketball in the present day. Until the others are able to step in and offer their star some assistance, the AJ Dybantsa show promises to be short-lived this postseason.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.