BYU forward AJ Dybantsa was expected to be a one-and-done player for the Cougars on his way to the NBA.
The freshman phenom leads the NCAA in scoring at 25.3 ppg as BYU prepares for March Madness.
In this exclusive interview with “Deseret Voices” host McKay Coppins, Dybantsa reveals that his time in Provo might not be so short.
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Note: Transcript edited by Steven Watkins
McKay Coppins: AJ Dybantsa, thanks for doing this.
AJ Dybantsa: For sure, thanks for having me.
MC: Basketball’s been at the center of your life since you were a little kid. Can you remember the moment when you realized you were good? Like, was it you who figured it out, was it a coach, was it a parent?
AD: No, I figured it out around COVID. No it was, like, during quarantine.
MC: OK.
AD: Yeah, like, my dad would like take me to Rhode Island every day, work out, I’d get beat up by some older kids, I was probably like 13, I was in, like, seventh, eighth grade. And then when I came back, I had a growth spurt, and then I played varsity as an eighth grader and I was frying, so I kind of knew I was nice.
MC: Tell me about the growth spurt. Like, how much are we talking, how many inches?
AD: Five inches in the summer.
MC: Wow.
AD: Yeah.
MC: And that was the moment where you would like show up at these games and you could play. Did you immediately start thinking, like, college, NBA?
AD: Well I always wanted to be an NBA player since like sixth grade. You know, people didn’t think it was realistic. I really, I mean, it was just, like, a dream that I had, but it didn’t get kind of realistic until like ninth grade. Eighth grade was kind of where I knew, like, OK, I could probably go to school for free, my parents wouldn’t have to pay for school and that was, like, a big thing for me and then after that, the NBA kind of became more of a reality for me.
MC: When you initially had that NBA dream and people were, you know, like not taking it seriously, what was that like for you? Like, did you just ignore them?
AD: Yeah, pretty much.
MC: What did your parents think when you said, “I want to play in the NBA”?
AD: Yeah, my dad was like, “I’ll try my best to help you get there, you just got to be able to listen to, you know, people that care for you and, you know, you should be able to go far.”
MC: Yeah, your dad has been a big part of your success.
AD: Yeah.
MC: What have you learned from him?
AD: A lot, I learned that like everything’s earned, not given, so a lot of my work ethic and motivation come from him.
MC: And you could have gone to any school. You came and visited BYU and something about that visit kind of sold you on BYU. What was it?
AD: Well, I think it was just kind of like the family atmosphere. I went to a football game, so I met, like, Steve Young and I met a whole bunch of football players that came here, but it was kind of just, like, you know, they were chanting my name in the crowd and it just kind of felt like home. And when I entered the gym, it kind of felt like I can, like, play here.
MC: Yeah. Did you know anything about, like, BYU or the LDS Church or anything before you came?
AD: No, my dad actually told me to put it in my top six.
MC: Really?
AD: Yeah, I wasn’t going to put them in there.
MC: Wow.
AD: I mean, I shouldn’t be, I mean, I already told them, so the world knows, but I wasn’t going to put them in there.
MC: Why did your dad want you to put them in?
AD: I don’t know, he clearly knew something, but he met Kevin. He met Kevin before I did.
MC: Uh-huh.
AD: So he kind of was like, “Yo, they have an NBA coach coming in.” See me, I was just what, 17, 18? So I was just thinking like, “No, I’m just going to go to a high-level school, I’m going to go to, like, the historical schools.” He’s like, “Bruh, just put them in there, go take a visit.” And I was like, “All right, I will,” and I kind of got sold on the visit.
MC: So it was Kevin that sold your dad first?
AD: Yeah.
MC: What did he say to your dad that kind of —
AD: Yeah, it was probably like the pro-style game, system that they run and, you know, obviously my ultimate goal is to go to the NBA, so I’m trying to get that knowledge early.
MC: BYU, I went to BYU. Has like a distinctive vibe. Like, it’s different from a lot of schools and it’s not for everybody. Did you like the vibe when you came?
AD: Yeah, I’m from Brockton, so it’s a lot, it’s a lot, like, it’s more hectic over there. It’s way more chiller in Utah.
MC: Well, Utah has kind of a bad rap in, like, the NBA. Utah is a state. Not the Jazz obviously, but, like, you know, small market, not a lot going on in Salt Lake City. That’s like the, players don’t want to play there. That’s the rap. What has being in Utah been like for you?
AD: I mean, I’m more of a laid-back dude, so I mean, I don’t mind being in, uh, whatever they call this that they claim is bad or not. I don’t think it’s that bad. I think it’s pretty cool.
MC: Small market?
AD: Yeah.
MC: Boring city?
AD: I mean, yeah, the options are probably limited in things you can do in Utah, but it’s better for me. I’d rather be at home anyway.
MC: Have you like gotten acquainted with any of the Utah, like, delicacies, like Cafe Rio? Have you gone to Cafe Rio?
AD: Yeah.
MC: What do you think?
AD: Solid.
MC: Give it a grade, A to F.
AD: Like a 7 out of 10.
MC: All right, 7 out of 10. All right. Have you tried dirty soda?
AD: Like Swig?
MC: Yeah.
AD: No. I don’t drink soda though.
MC: So if Swig came to you and offered you a deal right now, you’d say no?
AD: No, not necessarily.
MC: You just have to pay enough.
AD: I mean, not necessarily. I mean, like, it probably wouldn’t go hand-in-hand with me because I don’t drink soda.
MC: Yeah, it would be a tough sell. It wouldn’t be authentic.
AD: Yeah.
MC: All right. Swig, if you’re listening, come to AJ, make the check big enough, he might listen.
AD: No, it’s not all about the money, I kind of do my deals that tie in with my, you know, values and stuff.
MC: I get it. You’re taking a religion class at BYU.
AD: Yeah.
MC: What is it like? Tell me about it.
AD: No, it’s all non-members. It’s all non-members and it’s led by a member of the church, so he just kind of tries to give us like a dummy breakdown of how everything works. I mean it’s kind of similar to, you know, what I believe in and stuff like that, but it’s different obviously in its own ways, but he tries to dumb it down for us.
MC: Any Book of Mormon character or story that you that stands out to you or that you most like?
AD: Not yet, I’ll probably have to read more. Like, we’re like in the beginning.
MC: And is it just Book of Mormon? That’s what they’re teaching.
AD: Yeah.
MC: And is it mostly athletes?
AD: It might be all athletes.
MC: All athletes, yeah. When you were talking to the people at BYU and they told you about the Honor Code, what was your reaction?
AD: I mean, my parents were kind of saying the same thing. They were like, I mean, “You’ve been obeying rules in our house for what, 17 years? So you should be able to obey, you know, your college’s rules for however many years you’re going to be there.”
MC: Yeah. It’s probably, this is one of BYU’s selling points, it’s to the parents, right? They get to the athlete’s parents and they’re like, send your kid here and they’re going to like stay out of trouble, right?
AD: Yeah.
MC: I’m curious because this has become kind of a thing this season, actually the last few seasons of BYU sports, these “F the Mormon” chants. You’ve been in arenas where it’s happening, you’re not a Mormon yourself, what is it like to be in an arena and have the fans of an opposing team chanting “F the Mormons”?
AD: See me, I don’t really pay attention to the crowd. For me, I’ve been playing in big crowds for a while, so I can kind of block out the noise. I’ve pretty much heard it all at this point. But, I mean when it comes to sports, I can see, like, my coach believes in it, he thinks that, you know, a lot of student sections should keep it classy. You know, I agree, but at the end of the day, a lot of student sections just want to get the win and they just want to support their players and whatever is going to distract the other team, I guess that’s how it works but, you know, if you could keep religion out of it, I don’t think you should be attacking people’s religions but, I mean, I can’t really control what the other students do.
MC: You think they’re basically just trying to get into the players’ heads, right? They’re saying whatever they can.
AD: Yeah.
MC: I don’t think they actually really mean it. You have some Mormon teammates, obviously, not all of your teammates are. Have you guys talked about it in the locker room or do you all just kind of decide, like, tune it out, don’t pay attention?
AD: No, tune it out, yeah.
MC: You said at the beginning of the season that if BYU doesn’t win a national title, it would be a disappointment. I think championship or bust, right?
AD: Yeah.
MC: Obviously, you’ve had setbacks and things you couldn’t have anticipated, most recently Richie going out. But sitting where you’re sitting now, tournament’s coming up, has anything changed? Like, what would be a successful tournament for you?
AD: A championship.
MC: Nothing’s changed.
AD: No.
MC: Do you think it’s possible?
AD: Yeah.
MC: People have been watching the team and watching you in particular, especially these last few games, and you’re playing every minute, you’re playing super hard. I’m curious if you feel like things have changed since Richie left and, like, the team is trying to rally ahead in these last few games before the tournament? Like, has anything changed for you in the way you approach the game?
AD: I mean KY just kind of challenged me to be more of a leader, because Richie was kind of that leader for us and, you know, being a vet, being in the program for a while, but he kind of challenged me to be a leader so I got to, you know, do a little bit more.
MC: Mm-hmm. What does that look like for you?
AD: Just vocally, trying to lead by example in practice.
MC: Working, I mean, are you working harder? You were probably already working pretty —
AD: No, I’m working hard, but it’s just trying to, like, you know, just not only, like, scoring, just trying to get guys involved, try to lead by example with rebounding, boxing out, playing defense, guarding the best player.
MC: The thing that stands out to me when I watch you play is that you’re like kind of, I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re like a maniac competitor. Like, you want to win no matter what. Like, you can tell, like, it doesn’t matter what the score is, you’re playing crazy hard. You never, you think every game is winnable, no matter where you’re at. Where does that come from? Like, how, what where does that kind of ferocious competitiveness come from?
AD: No, yeah, I think it kind of went hand-in-hand with COVID. I was just kind of playing for fun, for the most part, with my friends, I don’t really care about wins and losses at that age. And then my eighth grade coach who I met in eighth grade, he kind of instilled in me, like, “Bruh, you should hate losing more than you love winning.” And ever since then like I kind of, like, I don’t like to lose.
MC: Oh really? So is that true for you that you hate losing more than you love winning?
AD: Yeah.
MC: How is it different? What explain the distinction there?
AD: Because you should be winning more than you lose. Like, your overall record in life should be more wins than losses. Not just basketball. So the fact that you lose, you should be way mad, like madder, if that’s a word, at yourself than if you win. Wins are nice, but you should be like head on fire if you lose.
MC: So when you’re out on the court and, like, that kind of gear kicks in where you’re, like, you’re just going crazy, it’s because you really don’t want to lose. More than you want to win. It’s not —
AD: Yeah, if you were to explain it, like, it’s not, like, “Oh I really, really want to win.” It’s like, I just don’t want to lose. If that makes sense.
MC: Yeah. No, it makes sense. And I’ve heard other athletes talk about this. Like, elite athletes will often talk about, like, the, either the fear of losing or just, like, the hatred of losing.
AD: Yeah, well it comes with it though, like, you have to fail a lot of times to be able to win, but I don’t really want to fail too much.
MC: When you talk to other players, like you’re in touch with a bunch of NBA players, obviously, I think you’ve talked about you have, like, a group chat at one point, you, like, mass texted a bunch of guys, right?
AD: Yeah.
MC: Um, what kind of advice are they giving you now at this stage of your career?
AD: They kind of just give me advice on like how to continue through the Big 12 and, you know, stay on pace for things and just try to tell me to keep going and, you know, what I can do to improve and what they they actually told me, I’m not going to spill the sauce, of what they would do to me in the NBA, which I should fix now.
MC: Oh, really? So they’re telling you, like, when you get to the NBA, this is how I’m going to, like, shut you down?
AD: Yeah.
MC: That’s interesting.
AD: Yeah.
MC: You don’t want to talk about it?
AD: No, I’m going to let them do that.
MC: Can you tell me just one player who’s told you how they’re going to shut you down?
AD: Russell Westbrook.
MC: Do you believe him?
AD: I think I can get a couple buckets on him. Um, shut down? I don’t think he’ll shut me down.
MC: Yeah.
AD: But he might make it a little harder.
MC: Yeah. That’s an interesting way to to get advice from players. Like, I’m going to be playing against you soon.
AD: Yeah.
MC: Did you ask them, like, what would you do to stop me?
AD: No, I was kind of just asking advice, like, you know, how can I get better and this and that, he’s like, “Well, first you got to stop this, because if you do this, I’m going to do this.” And it kept, it became an argument after that, actually.
MC: There’s a lot of, uh, right now in basketball, this is becoming a huge thing in the NBA, like, with the longer season, players are doing load management, they’re taking care of their bodies, they’re worried about, you know, getting worn down. Now we’re even starting to see it in college. Like, there are players who are, like, sitting for games or taking themselves out for part of games or whatever and on some level, I kind of get it. Like, they’re thinking about their futures, they’re thinking about going to the NBA. You don’t do that though. Like, I haven’t seen you yet, like, say, hey I’m going to sit this game. Why not?
AD: I mean, if I could play out there 40 minutes every game, I would. Coach just decides to take me out if he thinks I’m too tired, if he thinks, like, I take a couple plays off he thinks I’m too tired. But I mean, I train enough and I think I’m in shape enough and Michael Davie our strength coach does a really good job of keeping us in shape. So if I’m in shape enough to play, I’ll play.
MC: Yeah. You’ve been going through this season obviously there’s like constant draft chatter, right?
AD: Yeah.
MC: Everybody’s talking about, you know, where you’re going to go on the draft. A lot of people have said this is the most loaded freshman class of all time, between you and Darryn and Cam Boozer, like, and you played with these guys, right? But do you care about going No. 1? Do you want to go No. 1?
AD: Yeah.
MC: It’s that same competitiveness.
AD: Yeah.
MC: Do you think you will?
AD: Well, I might not leave.
MC: What do you mean?
AD: Like, I might not leave college.
MC: Why not?
AD: No, I just got to get until the end of the season.
MC: So you haven’t made up your mind that you’re going to go into the draft after this season?
AD: No, because my mom wants me to graduate.
MC: Really?
AD: Yeah, so I might not leave. But I might leave. I don’t know, you know, the fans might get into my head talking about, you know, one more year, maybe three more years. I don’t know. But, like, I’m going to have to talk to my mom. So —
MC: So your mom wants you to stay and get your degree.
AD: Yeah, she wants me to get my degree.
MC: Yeah. What are you studying?
AD: I haven’t chosen, but I’ll probably do financial management.
MC: OK. Why does she think it’s important that you get your degree?
AD: Um, because, you know, as mom, she’s thinking, like, post-basketball and, you know, God forbid if anything happens to me, I should always have a backup plan.
MC: I think people would be shocked to hear that, though, because everybody’s assuming you’re going into the draft after this season.
AD: I mean, yeah they can assume. I ain’t, I ain’t saying nothing.
MC: But when you do go in, you want to go No. 1?
AD: Yeah.
MC: What would it, I mean, look, I’m a BYU fan. BYU fans would do anything they can to keep you for another season. So is there any argument that would convince you to stay? Or is it really just your mom?
AD: Yeah, my mom’s a big part of it.
MC: Your mom —
AD: I mean, the fan base too like the fan base, even on a four-game losing streak that we had they showed up, they showed out, you know, trying to distract the other team from missing free throws and everything. So, I mean the fan base and the people treat me well here.
MC: Mm-hmm. When you envision yourself in the NBA, do you have a team that you really want to play for?
AD: No, I can’t choose, so there’s no point of even thinking where I should go.
MC: You’re now reaching this stage of your career where for a while you’ve been the kid, you’re getting mentored by people like Westbrook. I know you’ve, like, texted with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and uh, you know, a bunch of guys, right?
AD: Yeah.
MC: Uh, but you’re pretty soon going to get to a stage, if not already, where you’re giving advice to younger players, right? They’re going to come to you and ask, like, “What does my game need, how can I get to where you’re getting?” What’s the one piece of advice you give to those players?
AD: Probably stay in the moment. It’s probably like the biggest thing I learned. I try not to look too much ahead.
MC: Stay in the moment. What do you mean?
AD: Like, I mean a lot of people, like, in my position, so they assume I’m going to the draft. So they would just think, like, I’m just thinking about the NBA, not really caring about what’s going on in the present day, but I try to focus on the present day and not in the future.
MC: Hmm. So you don’t spend too much time thinking about your future? You’re just thinking about the next game, the season?
AD: Yeah. I mean, obviously, like, I see it and I, you know, think about it, like, oh, what would be happening in five years, like, yeah, I’ll think about it, but I don’t try to dwell on it too much.
MC: You said the fans have showed up for you and you just said that you still want a championship. What do you want from the fans in this final stretch as we head into the tournament? What do you want from them? How can they support you and the team?
AD: Nothing, exactly what they’ve been doing. I mean, I think we’ve had sold-out crowds plenty of times and, you know, they show up second half they try to wave their little, whatever they have in the student section, and they show up and show out and it gets loud and, you know, I can’t hear myself, so I know the opposing team can’t hear themselves. So just keep doing what they’re doing.
MC: All right, AJ, thanks for doing this.
AD: For sure.