AJ Dybantsa rocked college basketball on Tuesday when he revealed the best-kept secret at BYU since the arrival of caffeinated Coca-Cola on campus — he was saying no to Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama and instead, he was coming to play for the Cougars.
The nation’s top prep prospect signed his commitment papers last month, but he kept the most significant player-signature in program history under wraps until this week.
The noise caused by Dybantsa’s announcement has been deafening — a far cry from the day his mom and dad first stepped on campus last spring.
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Unexpected call
My phone rang mid-morning on Monday, April 22. It was assistant coach Collin Terry on the line. Terry was still on the job, despite the fact that most of Mark Pope’s previous staff was already elsewhere. He needed a favor and, considering I was in the middle of a neighborhood cleanup project, I quickly accepted.
Terry asked if I could rush to campus to lead a private tour of the BYUtv studios for a “big time” recruit. I asked him who it was, and he said, “AJ Dybantsa.” I hadn’t heard of AJ, but I assumed he was pretty important, and that the hastiness behind the request told me this was no ordinary tour.
The under-the-radar operation became even more unusual when Terry told me AJ wasn’t actually on the trip, but that the tour was for his parents, Ace and Chelsea. It was quite clear, the Cougars were never going to get to AJ unless they first won over his mom and dad.
This was an interesting time for the BYU basketball program. New head coach Kevin Young was still with the Suns in the NBA playoffs. The only bodies in the basketball office were Terry, Nate Austin, Pope’s director of operations, and a couple of grad assistants.
“We put together what I think was a fantastic visit,” Terry said. “I thought we were able to showcase what BYU was all about and the potential opportunities it had for them as a family and for their son.”
The Dybantsas toured campus, the Marriott Center and BYUtv. They also met with Young, who had flown in from Phoenix for a few hours to see them.
First impressions
“I thought they were incredible people,” Terry said. “I thought there was a level of interest and as the visit went on, I think, just like anybody else that goes to BYU, I think they realized there is way more to the university and the program than maybe you first thought there was.”
The BYUtv broadcasting building sits adjacent to the Marriott Center and basketball annex. It has very little to do with how a player develops his or her basketball skills; however, it has very much to do with telling their story, building their brand and, in the case of Dybantsa, preparing him for relentless media coverage.
Ace and Chelsea walked through the front door and greeted me and another of my BYUtv colleagues. The idea of a global television platform on campus had them intrigued and as we walked through the facility area, they peppered us with inquisitive questions.
Both wanted to know what BYUtv could do for their son. Promises of grandeur are tossed around freely on the recruiting trail. We were sure they had heard just about everything, but we knew BYU had something the likes of Kansas, Alabama and North Carolina didn’t have — BYU had BYUtv.
Standing in the studio where we produce “SportsNation,” “After Further Review” and “BYUSN GameDay,” we made our pitch. We said, “Next door, AJ is sure to develop as a player and go to the NBA. But where will he get trained to deal with all the media? That’s what we can do over here. This is where he can sharpen his interviewing skills.”
Name dropping
It never hurts to drop a few names, so we did. Current NFL players Jamaal Williams, Taysom Hill, Puka Nacua, Fred Warner, Zach Wilson and Tyler Allgeier are all former Cougars who perform admirably on the field and shine on camera after the game — skills they sharpened at BYU.
“I think they thought (BYUtv) was one of the highlights,” Terry said. “The opportunity to be connected to something like that that no other university has, I think was pretty unique and a big differentiator.”
Impressed by the initial visit, Ace and Chelsea returned to campus on Monday, June 3. This time, AJ was with them and again, BYUtv was on the tour.
While waiting for their arrival, I joked to my colleague, “When AJ gets here, he will be the highest rated recruit in school history to ever walk through that door. Let’s not mess it up!”
A few minutes later, AJ’s “team” arrived, and it included several assistant coaches, athletic director Tom Holmoe and a few others. At 6-foot-9, AJ stood a head and shoulder above everybody. As a typical teenager, he walked in glued to his phone.
After a brief introduction, we walked through the building. AJ was respectful, but a little distracted — like any high school senior might be who was fatigued by the recruiting process. Ace and Chelsea, however, remained locked in on every detail.
The tour lasted 30 minutes and as AJ scooted out the door, he shook our hands, expressed his gratitude for our time and told us he would see us again.
Dybantsa returned in early October for his official visit, which included the BYU-Arizona football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This is where AJ was introduced to the ROC student section. Steve Young was also there on the field, greeting the nation’s top recruit. A month later, he became the first No. 1 recruit to sign at BYU and a month after that, on Tuesday, he announced his plans to the world.
“He can take (BYU) to places it has never been,” said Terry, who now works as an assistant coach at Utah Prep in Hurricane where Dybantsa is enrolled. “The sky is the limit — Final Four, national championship — he’s that good.”
Dybantsa’s first game in Utah County since his announcement is Saturday night at Lehi High, when Utah Prep faces Duncanville, Texas, at 6 p.m. The event will cap a week of unprecedented exposure for him and BYU — and their respective futures.
There are a number of big reasons Dybantsa chose BYU with Young and his NBA-laden staff right at the top. NIL incentives and opportunities were also part of the package. BYUtv and the ROC may be further down the list, but still important. In a battle like this, even the slightest detail can be a dealmaker or breaker.
Fortunately for the Cougars, Dybantsa’s journey to BYU began with his parents.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
