No matter what AJ Dybantsa does at BYU, his point production won’t get his face carved into the Mount Rushmore of the program’s all-time scoring leaders — Tyler Haws (2,720), Jimmer Fredette (2,599), Danny Ainge (2,467), Michael Smith (2,319) or Devin Durrant (2,285).
However, when it comes to the lone season that the 6-foot-9 freshman is expected to have in Provo, Mark Durrant believes Dybantsa could supersede them all and take the program to its first Final Four while he’s doing it.
“The thing about AJ is he can score from anywhere on the floor — by himself,” the veteran basketball analyst for BYU Radio told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week. “He doesn’t need anybody else. He can shoot the 3. That little NBA off-the-dribble pull-up 15-footer — that’s NBA, and he’s already great at it.
“With the Euro-steps and his strength and length, he takes a couple of steps and gets to the rim. He’ll shoot five to 10 free throws a game because he draws contact,” he continued. “He has the chance to be the greatest offensive player (at BYU). I hate doing this to the kid, putting all these expectations, but he’s going to do it. He’s going to do it.”
Durrant only needed to watch BYU’s two exhibition games to draw his conclusion. Dybantsa dropped 30 points at Nebraska on Oct. 18 and scored 18 last Friday against No. 25 North Carolina at the Delta Center.
“I had my biggest question answered and that was about AJ. He was Mr. Everything, top recruit, best-ever to come to BYU, but I still had to see for myself, because it’s still going from high school to college,” Durrant said. “I saw in the exhibition games, it will be a hiccup for him. He’s going to dominate at this level. He’s gonna dominate at the next level, so that has eased my mind on that.”
Supporting cast
Aiding Dybantsa is the return of senior Richie Saunders and the acquisition of former Baylor point guard Rob Wright from the transfer portal.
“The best thing that ever happened to AJ is Richie and the best thing to ever happen to Richie is AJ,” he said. “Richie coming back takes so much pressure off AJ to win games and be the guy. He will still win games and be the guy, but when you have a guy like Richie coming back, he is going to take a lot of attention.
“Rob Wright is (also) gonna take a lot of attention. If you are worried about stopping AJ and Richie on the wings, good luck stopping Rob on the dribble. He is lightning quick. He is as quick as I’ve ever seen.”
The shorthanded Cougars struggled defensively in a 90-89 loss at Nebraska. Fielding a healthier team with players like Wright contributing more minutes, BYU bounced back to beat North Carolina 78-76. Both games provided the kind of education teams get while playing early-season games that count.
“Just the way these two exhibition games have gone I think will be helpful to BYU. They were both intense, great competition and competitive to the last shot,” Durrant said. “BYU is going to have a lot of those types of games so to have those experiences before you are thrown into that environment, I think is going to be very beneficial.”
Biggest opener ever?
Durrant will call his 29th season opener as Greg Wrubell’s color analyst on BYU Radio when the Cougars face Villanova on Monday, but this one will be unlike all the others.
The Cougars will take the floor in Las Vegas with their highest preseason ranking in program history (No. 8), the highest-rated recruit in program history (Dybantsa) and the highest level of expectation in program history.
No, Monday is not just another opening night — it’s arguably the biggest opening night for a program that first started shooting baskets in 1902.
“Yeah, I can’t think of anything bigger for a first game,” Durrant said. “Part of the whole AJ thing is everyone wants a piece of that. Everybody wants to see it. TV networks want to put it on TV so you have an opportunity to play these games that you just wouldn’t have had in the past, which elevates it into maybe the best opener ever.”
BYU is one of four teams playing in the Hall of Fame Series as part of college basketball’s opening night spectacular at T-Mobile Arena. Defending national champion Florida will face Arizona at 5 p.m. MDT, with BYU and Villanova following 30 minutes after. Both games will be televised on TNT.
“It’s bizzarro world. The guys like me, and the coaches for 50-70 years, have worked hard to get BYU in a place where they can compete at the highest level and get those types of players. It’s really cool,” Durrant said. “I think coach (Kevin) Young is certainly a unique character and brings talent and skills and visibility and an ability to get these types of players in there.
“The whole system, BYU is really invested in this, the NIL and the facilities that can attract the very top level talent. There was a time where it was unheard of, now it’s reasonable that BYU would be in the conversation for some of these really good players. Credit a guy like AJ for recognizing the opportunity he has at BYU and if he can succeed, which I’m sure he will, it’s going to open up the door for more guys like him in the future.”
Durrant’s top 5
The Big 12 remains one of the most difficult basketball conferences in the country, where six teams are among the preseason AP Top 25 – No. 2. North Carolina, No. 8. BYU, No. 10. Texas Tech, No. 13. Arizona, No. 16. Iowa State and No. 19 Kansas. Here is how Durrant ranks the top five in the Big 12.
5. Kansas: “This Darryn Peterson is off the charts. He’s right up there with AJ. They are going to be battling for the best player type deal. I think coach (Bill) Self is too good to have another mediocre season and I think they will right the ship with Peterson.”
4. Iowa State: “Their history and program. I think that’s a solid pick at four.”
3. Texas Tech: “This conference might have the three or four best players in the country with (All-American) JT Toppin and his experience. They almost made the Final Four last year. With him back, they are No. 3.”
2. BYU: “My philosophy has always been if you want to be No. 1, you have got to take it. I’m putting BYU at No. 2. If you want to be No. 1 for me, then you go and beat Houston. Maybe they will?”
1. Houston: I think Houston earns it, deserves it, they made the national championship game and have a lot of guys coming back. As much as I like BYU, who I think has a legitimate shot to win the national championship — you talk about BYU having better players than North Carolina, show me a team that they don’t have better players than — at least you can make an argument that BYU has better players than anybody. So, why not?”
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.