SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — AJ Dybantsa gave his home state a show, but his Utah Prep team couldn’t overcome a significant early deficit on Sunday at the Hoophall Classic.
After trailing by 27 points at halftime, Utah Prep cut the gap down to 10 points, but ultimately fell, 74-60, to Montverde Academy (Fla.). Dybantsa battled back from a slow start to finish with a game-high 25 points.
The top high school prospect in the country and Brockton, Mass., native, was obviously frustrated by the result, but acknowledged the effort level to make the game a contest.
“If you’re gonna lose, lose with a fight — don’t get embarrassed,” Dybantsa said postgame.
Dybantsa got off to a slow start along with his team, which fell behind 42-15 at the half. The BYU commit opened with an and-1 3-pointer but struggled to find a rhythm as the half went on, with Montverde defenders frustrating and stripping him of the ball on drives.
In the second half, much like last year, Dybantsa found a rhythm. He knocked down some pull-up jumpers that reinvigorated the crowd. Dybantsa demonstrated his unique athletic tools that help him explode to the basket and rise up to shoot over defenders. He finished a modest 8-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-9 behind the arc, and mentioned postgame that he wants to become a more consistent shooter.
“If I shoot (a 3-pointer) and just make it at 40-plus percent, I think I’d be a harder threat to guard,” he said.
Montverde overwhelmed Utah Prep with its depth of elite talent. The Eagles were led by CJ Ingram (16 points), Trent Sisley (15 points) and Kayden Allen (12 points).
Sunday’s primetime matchup was a learning experience for Dybantsa and Utah Prep as a whole — the first game under new head coach Keith Smart. Smart, a former NBA player and head coach and assistant in college, found the opportunity through his work with USA Basketball, but it’s led him down a surprising path.
“Believe me, I never thought that I would ever be in high school,” he said.
Smart had a lot to learn fast. A big note-taker, he didn’t have a clipboard, so he and the coaching staff were hastily scribbling on paper during the game. He didn’t bring an HDMI cord either, so he couldn’t show film pregame — another mental note for next time. He mentioned that he has to get comfortable with coaching through a shorter, 32-minute high school game.
But Smart’s credentials speak for themselves, and he saw promise even in the loss.
“It’s gonna be pretty quick for me to get a feel of how we play,” he said. “I knew the stuff that we worked on: getting to the floor, getting the 50-50 balls. I knew, coming into this environment with Utah Prep, that I’ve got to get them better defensively. So I saw that in the second half. I didn’t see that in the first half.”
Smart sees the same sky-high potential everyone else sees in Dybantsa. He recalled writing a scouting report on Dybantsa back when he was an assistant at Arkansas and Dybantsa was a freshman on St. Sebastian’s. Right away, Smart saw special scoring instincts and quick-twitch athleticism, which he likened to Kobe Bryant.
Smart, like Dybantsa himself, wants to see Dybantsa become a better shooter who can make shots beyond his rhythm pull-up jumpers. He also wants Dybantsa to be a more active off-ball defender and get more deflections with his 6-foot-9 frame and length.
“I don’t have to coach his talent. His talent is there,” Smart said. “I’ve got to coach the little, small detail things, what I see every day. I’ll send something, or I’ll get to practice and I’ll let him know, ‘This what you’ve got to work on. This is what you need to work on to get better.'”
The contest was Dybantsa’s second time at the Hoophall Classic; he played Cooper Flagg and Montverde while on Prolific Prep last year. Dybantsa did say he had friends from home in the stands and his father Ace sat courtside.
For all we know, this could be Dybantsa’s last time playing in Massachusetts until he reaches the NBA. But he hinted that BYU may have some scheduling tricks up its sleeves to get him back sooner.
“We should come back — I think we’ll come back — for college,” he said.
