2026 Recruiting: - AJ Dybantsa | Page 2 | The Boneyard

2026 Recruiting: AJ Dybantsa

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2. SF AJ Dybantsa (2026)​

AJ Dybantsa was so polished in scoring the ball that you forget he was one of only two high school sophomores in this event. The 6-foot-8 small forward averaged 27.4 points on 64.1 percent shooting from the field.

Dybantsa has excellent footwork and really does his work from the mid-to-high post. While he still needs to continue adding weight, which will help his core and his balance. When he has the ball in his hands, he plays with great patience, not forcing anything from any level. Dybantsa has great length and athletic pop, which he shows in transition

Dybantsa is one of the premier talents in the high school game.

www.on3.com

NBPA Top 100 Camp: Overall Top Performers

On3's Jamie Shaw discusses and breaks down the top overall performers from the 2023 NBPA Top 100 Camp in Orlando, Florida.
www.on3.com www.on3.com
 
WrenchFan69 said:


Going to Prolific Prep. Not that he'll play in college regardless, but probably doesn't help our case
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Just seeing the words “Prolific Prep” gives me horrible Vance Jackson flashbacks. Not the next step I was expecting in Dybantsa’s high school journey.
 
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Waquoit said:
Sez you
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Kentucky’s arrow is pointing down and Calislimy is far along on the back 9 on his coaching career. It’s fair for recruits to wonder how long he will continue doing it. We have an energetic and far younger coach that just signed a long, lucrative extension. Calislimy was Calhoun’s rival back as far as the ‘80s that’s how long he’s been doing it.
 
TheHorde said:
Kentucky’s arrow is pointing down and Calislimy is far along on the back 9 on his coaching career. It’s fair for recruits to wonder how long he will continue doing it. We have an energetic and far younger coach that just signed a long, lucrative extension. Calislimy was Calhoun’s rival back as far as the ‘80s that’s how long he’s been doing it.
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Yeah you nailed it. Kentucky’s recruiting has completely fallen off. Just look at the terrible class they have coming in this year.
 

5. SF AJ Dybantsa (2026)​

The game simply comes easy to some, AJ Dybantsa is one of those guys. The 6-foot-8 wing, who is playing up two age groups, showcased an array of scoring chops, capable of getting his buckets at multiple levels, creating his offense in the half-court off two or three dribbles.

Dybantsa is a lengthy wing with a projectable frame. He has explosive pop, which helps create separation, but it is his footwork that has been developing the most over the last couple of months. He has a smooth shooting stroke, capable of burying deep threes, but his work from 18 feet and in is where he gets his work done.

On3 has not ranked the 2026 class and will not do so for another couple of months. However, Dybantsa is trending as the top prospect in that class and one of the best in all of high school basketball. He finished with 21 points in the narrow loss today.

www.on3.com

Peach Jam: Day 1 Top Performers

On3's Jamie Shaw discusses the top performers he watch on day one of Nike's Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina.
www.on3.com www.on3.com
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Yeah you nailed it. Kentucky’s recruiting has completely fallen off. Just look at the terrible class they have coming in this year.
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Just look at all of the departures in the portal, bringing in a 3 (3?!) star recruit to fill their roster out. All for another first weekend exit? Sad! You nailed it lol
 
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TheHorde said:
Just look at all of the departures in the portal, bringing in a 3 (3?!) star recruit to fill their roster out. All for another first weekend exit? Sad! You nailed it lol
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They literally have the #1 recruiting class in the entire country. Yes they brought in some 3 star recruits, but it's the 6th and 7th recruits in their class. They have 4 5* recruits coming in and another top 50 recruit in addition to them
 
navery12 said:
They literally have the #1 recruiting class in the entire country. Yes they brought in some 3 star recruits, but it's the 6th and 7th recruits in their class. They have 4 5* recruits coming in and another top 50 recruit in addition to them
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Sure they do. But is their program as strong as it was even 3-5 years ago? They literally have an open scholarship slot right now. Cal is 64 years old. Is it fair for 2026 recruits to wonder if he will still be there in 2026 or 2027? I think so. Is their fan base united behind him and all thrilled? Absolutely not. My comment was for the folks who would prefer to waive the white flag on a recruit anytime Dook or Kentucky gets involved. We have a top 3-5 class coming in too don’t forget.
 
TheHorde said:
Sure they do. But is their program as strong as it was even 3-5 years ago? They literally have an open scholarship slot right now. Cal is 64 years old. Is it fair for 2026 recruits to wonder if he will still be there in 2026 or 2027? I think so. Is their fan base united behind him and all thrilled? Absolutely not. My comment was for the folks who would prefer to waive the white flag on a recruit anytime Dook or Kentucky gets involved. We have a top 3-5 class coming in too don’t forget.
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And none of that is at all relevant to the discussion. You pushed back on the idea that Kentucky is still recruiting well and looked dumb. Don't try and move the goalposts now and throw out all this irrelevant stuff.

We all know Calipari never wins in March and fans want him fired, but recruits don't care about that. He's putting a few guys into the NBA every year, and that's all recruits care about. Until that stops they're going to be a factor for every top recruit
 
navery12 said:
And none of that is at all relevant to the discussion. You pushed back on the idea that Kentucky is still recruiting well and looked dumb. Don't try and move the goalposts now and throw out all this irrelevant stuff.

We all know Calipari never wins in March and fans want him fired, but recruits don't care about that. He's putting a few guys into the NBA every year, and that's all recruits care about. Until that stops they're going to be a factor for every top recruit
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If he’s not there in a year how can they be in a good place as a program? What looks dumb is not admitting that there are tons of articles and discussions in the national media and Kentucky fan base that he’s on the hot seat. That is extremely relevant sorry. Agree to disagree with you on that. Again is their program in a better or worse place than it was even 3-5 years ago? Is our recruiting for the coming class roughly on par with their’s? Would that qualify as a needle down compared to where the two programs stood in 2016 or 2018 or 2019? Answer that question.
 
TheHorde said:
If he’s not there in a year how can they be in a good place as a program? What looks dumb is not admitting that there are tons of articles and discussions in the national media and Kentucky fan base that he’s on the hot seat. That is extremely relevant sorry. Agree to disagree with you on that. Again is their program in a better or worse place than it was even 3-5 years ago? Is our recruiting for the coming class roughly on par with their’s? Would that qualify as a needle down compared to where the two programs stood in 2016 or 2018 or 2019? Answer that question.
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Honestly, no. Our recruiting is not even close to theirs. And their recruiting hasn't even taken a step back from any of those years mentioned. This year Kentucky has the #3, 4, 6, 16, 42, 174, 197 recruits. UConn has the # 10, 46, 67, 81, 139 recruits. It's not close and if you take off your blue tinted glasses you'll see it.

They're continuing to get top recruits every single year, and they're continuing to send multiple guys to the NBA every year. The only difference with the portal era is when a top recruit fails they don't stay on the bench for 4 years at Kentucky, they transfer down a level and play

And it doesn't matter because we have Dan Hurley who's a much better coach, so we don't need a class full of top 10 recruits to make the NCAA tournament. But to say the classes are equal is just insane, even with our great class this year. It's a dumb argument and you're living in a fantasy world
 
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navery12 said:
Honestly, no. Our recruiting is not even close to theirs. And their recruiting hasn't even taken a step back from any of those years mentioned. This year Kentucky has the #3, 4, 6, 16, 42, 174, 197 recruits. UConn has the # 10, 46, 67, 81, 139 recruits. It's not close and if you take off your blue tinted glasses you'll see it.

They're continuing to get top recruits every single year, and they're continuing to send multiple guys to the NBA every year. The only difference with the portal era is when a top recruit fails they don't stay on the bench for 4 years at Kentucky, they transfer down a level and play

And it doesn't matter because we have Dan Hurley who's a much better coach, so we don't need a class full of top 10 recruits to make the NCAA tournament. But to say the classes are equal is just insane, even with our great class this year. It's a dumb argument and you're living in a fantasy world
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Yes ... but Dan Hurley's classes keep getting better, and he seems to reel in really high character guys. Just as was the case with Calhoun, I expect Hurley's guys to play above their rankings.

I wouldn't trade our players for Kentucky's, just because Dan Hurley recruited ours.
 
When it comes to recruiting vs Kentucky, I don’t think they have an inherent advantage over us right now “just because they are Kentucky”. We are a hot program and have a “he’s him” coach.

But with certain types of kids each program has its advantages.

A Top 10 recruit that wants to just prep for the NBA as a 1 and done, Kentucky is the school.

A Top 10 recruit who wants to make the league as a lottery pick but try to accomplish something special in college in a 1-2 year career, UConn is the school.

This kid seems to be interested in winning and playing selfless basketball (his Team USA comments stick out). A point in the right direction for the good guys.
 
McLovin said:
When it comes to recruiting vs Kentucky, I don’t think they have an inherent advantage over us right now “just because they are Kentucky”. We are a hot program and have a “he’s him” coach.

But with certain types of kids each program has its advantages.

A Top 10 recruit that wants to just prep for the NBA as a 1 and done, Kentucky is the school.

A Top 10 recruit who wants to make the league as a lottery pick but try to accomplish something special in college in a 1-2 year career, UConn is the school.

This kid seems to be interested in winning and playing selfless basketball (his Team USA comments stick out). A point in the right direction for the good guys.
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There’s probably a total of 0 kids in your second category. Every kid leaves for the NBA the moment it’s offered to them.
 
The difference between Kentucky and us in recruiting is if a kid really cares about the college game or not.

And tbh, would you want a chance at a title or a chance at a supermax as a top recruit?
 
I don't really have an opinion on Kentucky's recruiting but I saw this today, fwiw.

Kentucky's standing in the landscape shifting?​

Kentucky has spun its wheels on the court in recent years, and its influence in the recruiting realm anecdotally feels as if it has shrunk a bit. UK put together the No. 1 class in 2023, but its early start to 2024 is less promising with only one commit and a No. 20 ranking nationally. Its fortunes could change with Karter Knox (former UK star Kevin Knox's brother) and Tre Johnson -- both five-star talents -- giving the Wildcats consideration, but the way this is headed, it's going to be a challenge for them to finish with the No. 1 class -- or to even contend for No. 1 given how well Duke and UNC are positioned.

www.cbssports.com

College basketball recruiting: Duke's unfinished business, Kentucky's slow start among storylines to watch

Elsewhere, can upstart Rutgers stay hot with its 2024 class, or will traditional blue bloods make a late run?
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
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HooperScooper said:
I don't really have an opinion on Kentucky's recruiting but I saw this today, fwiw.

Kentucky's standing in the landscape shifting?​

Kentucky has spun its wheels on the court in recent years, and its influence in the recruiting realm anecdotally feels as if it has shrunk a bit. UK put together the No. 1 class in 2023, but its early start to 2024 is less promising with only one commit and a No. 20 ranking nationally. Its fortunes could change with Karter Knox (former UK star Kevin Knox's brother) and Tre Johnson -- both five-star talents -- giving the Wildcats consideration, but the way this is headed, it's going to be a challenge for them to finish with the No. 1 class -- or to even contend for No. 1 given how well Duke and UNC are positioned.

www.cbssports.com

College basketball recruiting: Duke's unfinished business, Kentucky's slow start among storylines to watch

Elsewhere, can upstart Rutgers stay hot with its 2024 class, or will traditional blue bloods make a late run?
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
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They must be pretty desperate for clicks running this as an article (I say that not having clicked, so let me know if I'm in error and it's worth clicking).
 
AJ can get his shot--get to his spots--anytime he wants.. Makes the game look pretty easy vs the best competition.. See some KD in his bag of tricks. Hope Mom can get him to stay focused on his promise to play CBB first.. Lets keep him in NE Danny.
 
navery12 said:
He's a projected top 10 pick who is going to leave for the NBA at the first opportunity available to him
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Right, but my original point wasn’t that and maybe I phrased it wrong.

I meant that there are sure fire 1 and dones not yet eligible for the NBA who go to Kentucky as a training camp. And then there are likely 1 and dones (sometimes, 2 year guys) in the top 10 who also value accomplishing something in their college career, making UConn a great fit. Aka Stephon Castle.

Kyle Filipowski (Duke) is another guy with that mentality, and he chose to stay a second year.
 
Huskyforlife said:
There’s probably a total of 0 kids in your second category. Every kid leaves for the NBA the moment it’s offered to them.
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Clingan would have likely been a late 1st round draft pick this year and chose to come back. Absolutely would have been drafted and made a roster regardless.

Kyle Filipowski at Duke is another guy who passed up the NBA to return to college…
 
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