BOSTON, Mass. — AJ Dybantsa doesn’t get many opportunities to play at home these days. He made his final chance to do so in high school count.
Dybantsa, the Brockton, Mass. native and No. 1 recruit in the country, returned Wednesday night to a sold-out crowd at Emmanuel College, where he scored 18 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead Utah Prep to a 79-71 victory over Highland School (Va.) in a Grind Session matchup.
Dybantsa will play one more game this winter in Massachusetts, on Jan. 19 at the annual Hoophall Classic in Springfield. But Wednesday marked the final opportunity for the 6-foot-9 phenom to dazzle a Boston crowd before he heads to college next fall, and in all likelihood becomes a top pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
He last played in Boston earlier this year, when he led Prolific Prep to a win at BC High. This time, though, he felt some more electricity around the city and inside the gym, where he experienced a bigger crowd of more than 1,400 that included plenty of familiar faces.
“(It was) way different,” Dybantsa said.
“I came out here to try to win in front of the crowd. That’s what we did. … I had fun in front of the crowd and we have the best fans, obviously.”
Dybantsa shook off a slow start as Utah Prep, also led by J.J. Mandaquit, built a 21-point halftime lead before they nearly squandered it in the fourth quarter. The game featured a matchup of two of the nation’s biggest high school stars in Dybantsa and Highland’s Nate Ament, the No. 4-ranked recruit in the country who put his team on his back.
Ament scored a game-high 27 points, including a late 3-pointer over Dybantsa that brought Highland within three. On the ensuing possession, Dybantsa responded with a step-back jumper, and Utah Prep held on from there.
“(He’s a) great player,” Dybantsa said of Ament. “He’s going to have a great college career and be a Top 5 pick, in my opinion.”
Some of the packed house at Emmanuel included Dybantsa’s college suitors. Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang and his coaching staff sat courtside, while Alabama head coach Nate Oats with assistant Preston Murphy, BYU head coach Kevin Young, and assistants from North Carolina were all in attendance.
Dybantsa just recently concluded his tour of visits, which included those four schools plus Kansas. He won’t make any more visits, and while he initially intended to make a college commitment in February, it could be sooner.
“That was the plan, but if I know where I’m going to go, I’m not going to wait,” Dybantsa said. “I’m just going to go ahead and commit.”
The game wrapped up a special homecoming week for Dybantsa, who arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday. He watched two of his sister Jasmyn’s volleyball games at Cardinal Spellman High School – both victories – before visiting the Boys & Girls Club of Roxbury to share some advice and wisdom with kids.
No matter how far he is from home, or how bright his stardom shines, giving back to his community is important to Dybantsa, who routinely makes time to make stops in Brockton.
“Every time I come back, I try to give back,” Dybantsa said.
On the court, too, he takes great pride in his home. He said Wednesday he didn’t have much time to talk to anyone – “I was too locked into the game,” he said – but he certainly recognizes the weight he carries as a unique talent from this area. Other than Terrence Clarke, who tragically died in a car accident in 2021, Massachusetts hasn’t boasted a player like Dybantsa in a generation.
“I mean, the last guy we had besides Terrence was Patrick Ewing, which was, like, 40 years ago,” Dybantsa said. “I just want to be a guy who (helps) people know that Brockton is on the map. Everybody talks about the New Yorks of the world, the Calis of the world, but Mass. got some hoopers.”
