Chelsea Dybantsa sometimes struggles to enter her son’s room. It’s empty much of the year now, a reminder that AJ Dybantsa is far from home, chasing his basketball dreams.
The most bittersweet days for Chelsea are when Dybantsa does return to his Brockton, Mass., home. They don’t come often — he plays both high school and AAU out west — and she wants to maximize their short times together as a family.
“It actually gets harder, just because I want him to be here, and we know that there's a part of us that's not in the house,” Chelsea said.
AJ Dybantsa is widely considered the top high school player in the country. He’s the most highly-touted prospect from Massachusetts since Patrick Ewing 40 years ago. His follower count (147,000 on Instagram) is climbing, he’s endorsed by Nike, and he’s drawing crowds even as he strolls casually through airports. Dybantsa becoming an eventual NBA Draft lottery pick in two years isn’t just a possibility — it’s the expectation.