BYU basketball midterms: grades for AJ Dybantsa, Kevin Young's shining star

Welcome to the BYU basketball midterm report cards. Today's topic of discussion is freshman AJ Dybantsa, the most highly anticipated player in the history of the program, and the crown jewel of head coach Kevin Young's recruiting portfolio. What makes him so exciting? Why does he find his name atop NBA mock drafts? And how has he met expectations in his first returns?

AJ Dybantsa is the future of basketball

It's like they grew this guy in a lab. If Dr. James Naismith could see an athlete like Dybantsa on full display, the game's father would feel a deep sense of shame and regret for creating a platform for such a man to inflict terrible pain and humiliation upon his adversaries.

AJ Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 guard out of Brockton, Massachusetts, is the ideal specimen for peak basketball performance. A do-it-all athletic nightmare, he possesses the length and elasticity to elevate above the outstretched arms of his defenders, with the feathery touch to drop the ball carefully through the net.

AJ is bendy, and he uses that to his advantage regularly. With an impressive ball-handling ability for his size and a game completely saturated with finesse, he shows patience and an understanding of the game's inner machinations beyond that of 99.99% of any 18-year-old in the world. All before his 19th birthday on January 29th, he's posted a high of 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, including a 33-point triple-double he notched against the outmatched Eagles of Eastern Washington.

His bread and butter is in his pull-up free-throw line jumper. With shades of Shaun Livingston, he's a midrange assassin, capable of getting any shot off and nearly automatic when he gets to his spots. He's a strong finisher, a foul magnet, and a player who welcomes contact when approaching the basket. Most impressively, AJ is a no-waste offensive player. Consistently shooting above 50%, his approach is calculated and precise -- the last thing he'll ever be is a black hole for the offense. Dybantsa gets his teammates involved and uses his gravity with commendable patience.

At his size and at his age, AJ's game has a real maturity (on and off the court) that any team would love to have in their number one option.

This kid may even be better than your 55-year-old uncle claims to have been back in high school -- it's possible.

Dybantsa is top-three in every reputable NBA mock draft in the world, because many see him as the archetype for the ideal cornerstone of the future.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves

Look, it's easy to swept up in the wave of hype surrounding BYU's bright new superstar; heaven knows I've been guilty of letting my admiration blind my analysis. But as great as he's been, there is still room for improvement.

Turnovers have reared their ugly head in recent weeks for Dybantsa. In recent games, he's coughed up possession three, five, and seven times in back-to-back affairs.

He's had a tendency to try to dribble through zone defenses where his gangly frame is no match for smaller, more tight-wound guards on the perimeter. He'll also zip the occasional cross-court pass that might have worked at the high school level, but gets picked off by most attentive D-1 defensive backs.

His three-point jumper and foul-shooting beg for consistency, however. The flight path of his jumper is often flat, giving the ball less margin for error than that of a rainbow-arching Stephen Curry three-ball. This isn't a damning flaw, however, as players like Kawhi Leonard have shared similar shooting characteristics and found tremendous success as a scorer at the next level. But he'll rarely score more than one or two three-pointers in a single game, and tends to get in his head at the foul line if he's missed already.

He's also flashed the occassional defensive lapse. Whether preoccupied or distracted, AJ isn't the most active off-ball defender. He's never a low-effort player, so this seems to be a very correctable trait, but still worth mentioning.

The good has far outweighed the bad, though, and AJ has shown a willingness to learn, adjust, and receive advice from his coaches.

I'm giving AJ Dybantsa an A- on his report card. For every area that he underwhelms, he always finds three new ways to make up for it. If his three-pointer doesn't fall, he doesn't force the issue, he attacks a higher-percentage look or facilitates open shots for his teammates. He's been a great teammate and locker room presence, and his star potential flashes with every appearance he makes.

AJ Dybantsa midterm report card: A-