BYU, with freshman AJ Dybantsa leading the way, had a decent start to the college basketball season this year. As of now, the Cougars stand with a 3-1 record, recently only losing to Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies on Saturday. Though Dybantsa was efficient in the game, adding 25 points and 6 rebounds in this loss, NBA veteran Jalen Rose highlighted a startling issue that could plague BYU in the long run.
In this game against the Huskies, Rose noticed Dybantsa scored most of his points playing in isolation. And if we look at the scoreboard, BYU had a total of seven assists through their roster compared to 21 assists recorded by Hurley’s Huskies. That, as Rose highlighted, was a major problem.
Rose, featuring in TNT Sports‘ Big East coverage panel consisting of Bruce Pearl and Jamal Mashburn, made his thoughts clear on this issue that he had observed. He said,
“Everytime you see AJ score the ball is unassisted. The next level for BYU’s team is somebody’s got to make the game easy for him every now and then.”
Another issue that the panel host pointed out was the level of cohesion among college basketball teams at the start of the season. For UConn, it was definitely easier since some of the players had prior experience playing on the same team together. But Jalen Rose didn’t seem very convinced by that explanation. He added,
“You know what you gotta know? AJ is our guy! Find him! I don’t care if he is in the stands, that’s what you gotta do! You know what it is, we all know this!”
View this post on Instagram
It is also quite interesting to see how iso-plays are increasingly being frowned upon as basketball continues to evolve. Iso plays were at it’s peak in the late 1990s and early to mid-2000s, especially when star players like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady were doing so on the hardwood. These were their focal points of offenses, often dribbling the clock down before attempting a shot or creating a scoring opportunity one-on-one.
Most recently, James Harden ran one of the best offenses in the league, playing iso and had scored 18.1 points per game in the 2018-19 season just on isos. But now, this has seen a decline as the game has moved forward to a more ‘pace and space’ oriented style of play, popularized by the rise of teams such as the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
AJ Dybantsa Revealed Kevin Durant’s Influence on His Game
AJ Dybantsa and Kevin Durant share a unique connection in basketball. The now BYU coach, Kevin Young, was coaching the Phoenix Suns during his NBA stint and had most recently served as the associate head coach for the Suns. In a way, he had experience in dealing with and coaching KD. Dybantsa wanted to know Durant’s experience with the BYU coach, and recently revealed he had a conversation with the two-time NBA champion about the same.
“I actually hit [Durant] up, just to ask him about [Young],” Dybantsa said. “He was like, ‘Yo, you’re going to [like] him, so just take the visit and see how you feel about it.’”
AJ Dybantsa is a great admirer of Durant and has studied his game thoroughly. He values the insight given to him by KD, which quickly helped bridge trust for Dybantsa in Young. Perhaps, this was one of the focal points in Dybantsa’s decision to commit to BYU.
Also Read:
IN PIC: Duke Star Cameron Boozer’s GF Yva Lauren Cao Shows Cheerleading Fit at Hard Rock Stadium
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
