Memoirs from the Mount: prying the blue goggles from my eyes, evaluating AJ Dybantsa

Welcome to Memoirs from the Mount, a weekly adventure through the twisting catacombs of my consciousness. From the solitary peak of Mount Fuji to the cascading slopes of Mount Timpanogos, I'm sending a telegram of my perspective on current events surrounding BYU athletics.

Last Week's Memoirs: BYU QB Bear Bachmeier is a constant reminder of my 'best two years'

If this were a clickbait-laced YouTube video, it would be titled something like: "BYU fan tries to be objective about BYU alumni (IMPOSSIBLE!)" paired alongside a vivid thumbnail of my face blowing up like in those old Airheads Commercials.

There are many reasons why I don't have a YouTube channel, and moments like these are solemn but necessary reminders to myself.

But yeah, to back up my own point, being just and impartial when it comes to evaluating my favorite BYU representatives is practically impossible. This happens in every aspect of analyzing anything tied to BYU athletics, and it's a plague that's afflicted me since my early years. As bad as BYU basketball was by the end of the regular season, I still picked them to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. I wrote countless articles preaching against the miscarriages of justice wrought upon the BYU football team when they were kept out of the College Football Playoff for a second straight year, knowing full well what would happen to my beloved football team if they were to square off against the likes of Ohio State, Oregon, or worst of all, a third meeting with the Red Raiders of Texas Tech.

The very thought rattles my bones.

I blame my upbringing. As a child, I can honestly recall watching a college basketball game and wondering how there could exist people -- real-life human beings -- who weren't BYU or Utah fans. There was no grasping the concept that some, in fact, many, individuals care exactly zero about what is going on in the world of Utahn college athletics. I just couldn't comprehend the world outside of my own little bubble. Unlike today, of course, where I still sit down at my laptop and write multiple articles every day, specifically about whatever is going on in the world of BYU athletics, despite living thousands of miles away on an island in the Asia Pacific.

Irony.

With the impending NBA Draft on the horizon, the NBA Combine already in the books, and my keyboard sizzling due to the tens of thousands of characters I've typed on a daily basis about this very topic, I'm forced to take an honest-to-goodness gander at AJ Dybantsa as a prospect outside the BYU bubble. I try to hold myself together, hunting for flaws, digging for dirt, highlighting areas of weakness, but I always default to the message scribbled in my heart. AJ can do no wrong. Make him the MVP, or suffer my coordinated and calculated chorus of whining.

But the Utah Jazz's role in this whole situation has certainly thrown a bit of a twister into my order of operations. With Utah sitting second overall, and AJ the expected number-one pick, I've been forced to make a decision. If I were the GM of my favorite NBA basketball team, and I were given the choice between the hometown hero, Dybantsa, or the Kansas superstar and likely number-two overall pick, Darryn Peterson, who would I select to lead my team to glory?

And most importantly, can I back that opinion with evidence more tangible than "I really liked him at BYU"?

It's time to buckle down. Time to work my fingers to a sweat here, on the keyboard of my MacBook. I'm GM of the Utah Jazz on draft night (a horrifying, but very real event here within my fantasy world), and Washington has done something insane, like pick Cameron Boozer first overall, who is my selection?

This is my task. I'd better hurry, too, because it looks like I'm on the clock.

Dybantsa vs Peterson: who am I, a known BYU homer, taking in the NBA Draft?

The case for AJ Dybantsa with the number-one pick

AJ Dybantsa is both a throwback and a glance into the future. Of the Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, and even DeMar DeRozan prototype, the 6'9" freshman shredded opposing defenses with his dazzling array of footwork, combined with gentle touch from the area near the foul-stripe.

Modern basketball philosophers would scoff at such a signature shot, desparaging it as a low-efficiency attempt. A foolish waste of a possession. A relic of the basketball stone-age. Modern basketball philosophers would also like you to pay $5/month to read their articles.

AJ Dybantsa, with the elasticity of a sticky hand and the creativity of a 9-year-old who dipped said sticky hand in bright-green paint before slapping it around every flat surface of his bedroom, is an offensive innovator. An inventor and blazer of his own path, he represents a sort of modern-day offensive revolution, where dribble moves and fallaways are primary weapons, not late-clock failsafes.

He is a natural leader, and he proved that both on and off the court during his time in Provo. A tireless worker who views his skill set as moldable putty and invites the suggestion of his coaches to poke, prod, and morph his game into a more optimal form. He stays out of controversy, works tirelessly, and clearly hates to lose. AJ Dybantsa, both as a player, and as a leader, is peaking atop draft boards everywhere, and for very good reason.

Let's remember that I am selecting for the Utah Jazz, however, and in that regard there are a few pros and a few cons to taking AJ.

For starters, selecting AJ Dybantsa means that I am picking a potential MVP. A shining beacon whose brilliance will be reflected in the historic archives of my franchise as a high-point for generations upon generations. He loves living in Utah, and has said as much. Considering the Jazz often struggle to keep stars in-house for prolonged periods, it's refreshing to see a potential number-one pick who wants to be on the Jazz, and prefers Utah above all other teams.

But I can't just pick somebody because they like me. I learned that the hard way in high school. Several times.

No, if I'm pursuing the first championship in my franchise's history, and my window opens with my selection this year, I cannot afford to allow emotion to dictate my decision -- that's the point of this entire exercise.

And here's the hard truth about AJ. As a three-point shooter, ball-handler, and defender, there is a lot of room for improvement.

He shot below 33.3% from distance on the year. That's not ideal, especially for a player who I hope can be relied upon to keep the cogs turning when the rest of my team is strugging to find a groove on offense.

He was double and triple-teamed constantly this year at BYU, and he struggled to take full advantage, whether turning the ball over through the dribble, forcing a contested jump shot, or simply passing out and living to see another day, Dybantsa wasn't infalliable, though when your options are Abdullah Ahmed, Kennard Davis, and Aleksej Kostic, I can't exactly blame AJ for feeling like he had nowhere to go at times. He didn't.

On defense, a player of his length and athleticism (42" vertical says what?) should be an absolute plus in every aspect, but AJ's growing frame and lack of quick-reaction time often set him up to be just... fine. For a number-one overall pick, Dybantsa will need to improve on defense, because he possesses all the necessary tools to be good, if not great at that end.

AJ Dybantsa is so polished in most every other aspect of his game, so what's going on at the defensive end?

The case for Darryn Peterson with the number-one pick

There is a lot to like about Darryn Peterson, and as the decision-maker for the Utah Jazz, he might just be the perfect prospect to join my team and start winning right away. In theory.

He's the most natural fit for Utah's needs of any player in the draft at-large, slotting in effortlessly alongside Keyonte George in the starting lineup at shooting guard, and adding his artistic and mesmerizing style of play to an already dynamic offensive skill tree sprouting at center court of the Delta Center. In comparison to Dybantsa, who is more of a natural small forward, Peterson fits much more comfortably between George, Markkanen, Jackson Jr., and Kessler.

His dribble is tight, like my lips when absorbing the potent might of a black cherry Warheads candy. He has a burst off the dribble that may as well be propelled by manga onomotepaea. Peterson will finish above you or through you, whatever he deems to be most necessary. And that's if he gives you the mercy of attacking the paint at all.

I've seen his jump shot release appear before my tear-streamed face in my dreams. As fluid and close to one motion as I've ever seen, the ball is out of his hands the very moment that it arrives. Not like Shawn Marion and his T-rex flick, but like Steph Curry and his effortless, targeted launch. It's not just out of his hands quickly, either, it's been practiced for countless reps to the point where he could connect on 38.2% of his looks.

Deadly accuracy from a trained assassin.

His natural ability to take and make very difficult shots could be Peterson's most underrated attribute. He often found himself interwoven within his defender's outstretched arms as he followed through, and comfortably found the bottom of the net in the most unfriendly circumstances. He finds luxury in the discomfort, and that is something that most players must be born with, and can never learn through organic means.

It's worth noting, as well, that Peterson has outperformed Dybantsa in nearly every head-to-head matchup to date, outscoring AJ in a game where the two posted over 100 points between themselves and winning the game, and likewise outscoring AJ -- in just one half of play -- during BYU's visit to the Allen Fieldhouse earlier this year.

Many watched these collision-course meetings and walked away with a natural conclusion: Peterson is a better player.

But here's the catch. Peterson played in just one half of that game against BYU. He took himself out of several basketball games this year, seemingly without the consent or prior knowledge of head coach Bill Self. It was blamed on cramping, injury prevention, and protecting his draft stock once he had seemingly made his point in a blowout victory, but it was weird.

The situation got even weirder when an explanation arrived months later, blaming creatine for Peterson's cramping and clapping the dust off his hands like nothing had happened.

The whole saga brings into question just how motivated he is to compete, or if he was simply saving his body for a career in the NBA.

The cramping and injury issues had visibly affected his overall athleticism when compared to his high school tape. Whatever happened with Darryn Peterson at Kansas, it was abnormal. Haven't we learned our lesson from the cautionary tale of Markelle Fultz?

Still, at his best, Peterson really only has one weakness as a prospect. He's athletic, he's long, he can shoot, he can dribble, he can create his own shot, he can defend exceptionally, and he wraps it all up into perhaps the most complete package in the entire draft class. His weakness? Passing the ball. He does not create for his teammates.

This might just be a blind spot in his game -- playmaking can be learned, as was the case in Keyonte's case. But he's said that he views himself as a point guard, I question to what degree he actually means that. As a player who prefers to have the ball in his hands, and therefore would be happiest to bring the ball down himself? Sure, yeah, he's a point guard. As a player who creates for his teammates and orchestrates the offense? Yeah, I don't know about that.

Verdict:

If I'm the Utah Jazz and I have the option of AJ or DP, I've got plenty to consider. I think the Jazz wouldn't hesitate to take the hometown stud, Dybantsa, given the chance.

But in truth, I think the inevitability that Washington will take Dybantsa number-one overall could save the Jazz from themselves. Darryn Peterson is a seamless addition to a Jazz lineup ready to compete this year. No concessions, no awkward adjustments, it just works. Given that, plus the fact that Darryn arrives as a slightly more complete vision on day one, I think you have to ignore the emotional aspect and take Peterson -- a player who may yet turn out to be better than Dybantsa in the long run.

It pains me to say it, but if the Utah Jazz know what's good for them, they'll stay put with the second pick, and simply catch whoever falls into their laps. Given the choice between the two, I think Darryn Peterson deserves more consideration than I, or most other BYU fans, are inclined to give him.

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.

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