BYU phenom AJ Dybantsa could not stop the Cougars from falling to a demoralizing 90-68 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road on Tuesday evening. Dybantsa dropped 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Cougars’ fourth loss in their last five games as they have slipped out of the AP Top-25 rankings.
While the Cougars have lost form at the most inopportune moment, just before the NCAA Tournament, Dybantsa has continued his high-level production, further strengthening his claim to be the No. 1 NBA Draft pick later this year.
AJ Dybantsa Makes Shocking Draft Claim
During Tuesday’s segment of the “Deseret Voices” podcast, Dybantsa, who is among the favorites to become the No. 1 pick in June, made a huge proclamation about his draft future.
“Well, I might not leave,” Dybantsa said. “My mom wants me to graduate. Yeah, so I might not leave… Like, I don’t know. The fans might get into my head talking about one more year, maybe three more years, I don’t know. But I’m going to have to talk to my mom.”
“I haven’t chosen yet, but I’ll probably do financial management. My mom is thinking about post-basketball, and God forbid if anything happens to me, I should always have a backup plan. People can assume whatever they want. I’m not saying anything. My mom’s a big part of it, and the fan base too. The fan base and the people treat me well here.”
The battle to be the class of 2026’s No. 1 pick has boiled down to Dybantsa, Kansas Jayhawks’ controversial star Darryn Peterson, and Duke Blue Devils standout Cameron Boozer.
Just turned the ball over, careless passes, not being strong with the ball. They were just being physical.
SEE ALSO: CBB World Wonders What No. 1 Duke Would Look Like With Cedric Coward: ‘NCAA Tournament Cancelled’
Dybantsa Bemoans Costly Mistakes
Away from the speculation about his future in college basketball, Dybantsa’s Cougars struggled against Cincinnati, and the star forward had a first half to forget, committing 5 turnovers and going 0-for-4 from deep and 3-of-11 from the field.
During his postgame news conference, Dybantsa bemoaned his poor performance, despite finishing with 23 points.
“Not well,” Dybantsa said. “Just turned the ball over, careless passes, not being strong with the ball. They were just being physical. I thought I was getting to my spots. I could have settled. I mean, I think I did settle for tough (shots) at times. For the most part, I was getting good looks, but I was just trying to be more physical with the ball and stop making stupid turnovers.”
Dybantsa is averaging 24.9 points (No. 1 in the country) on 53% shooting from the field and 36.3% shooting from beyond the arc, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists for the Cougars this season.
