AJ Dybantsa’s standout performance at TD Garden went in vain as the BYU Cougars suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the No. 3 UConn Huskies on Saturday night. The Cougars fell 86-84 to drop to 3-1 on the season.
The BYU freshman, who is considered to be a future NBA lottery pick, entered this game averaging 18.7 points per game. He played better than his average as he scored 25 points in 34 minutes while also adding six rebounds.
He shot 8 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 3 from the 3-point line. He also made 7 of 10 free throws. On the defensive end, he added two steals to his name while committing three turnovers.
This was Dybantsa’s highest-scoring game in the college basketball season so far. He made his debut with a 21-point outing against Villanova, followed 17 and an 18-point outing against Holy Cross and Delaware, respectively.
This was also his first game where the forward failed to record a single assist. In the first three games, he at least recorded two assists per game.
Moreover, against UConn, his shooting percentage was lowest (57.1%), as compared to the first three games.
How AJ Dybantsa’s Commitment to BYU Upended the Program?
There was no looking at other five-star recruits once head coach Kevin Young got AJ Dybantsa to commit to BYU. The Brockton, Massachusetts native’s decision to commit to BYU fundamentally altered the Cougars’ recruiting strategy.
“Once we got AJ committed, and we knew he was coming along, we pushed pause on all of our recruiting,” Young told reporters at Big 12 media day. “We pretty much stopped recruiting any other high school player, including like, really, really good players, in terms of five-star guys, international guys if they were young.”
BYU chased veterans, perimeter shooters, and players who could complement Dybantsa’s skill set following his commitment.
“We look at what we want the team to look like in its entirety, knowing he was coming,” Young said. “We wanted to prioritize veterans, we wanted to prioritize shooting, we wanted to prioritize perimeter defense.”
Dybantsa was the top-rated player in the 2025 class, according to multiple recruiting agencies. He can shoot from anywhere on the court and measures 6-foot-9 already.
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