PORTLAND, Ore. — In what might’ve been BYU freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa’s final college game Thursday, he put together a performance fitting for a potential top pick in this summer’s NBA draft. But it wasn’t enough to keep his sixth-seeded team’s season alive.
Against 11th-seeded Texas, Dybantsa totaled 35 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the first freshman to score 35 points in his men’s NCAA tournament debut. However, his outing was overshadowed by a 79-71 loss to the Longhorns.
Dybantsa said he expects to decide on his playing future in the “next couple of weeks.” He wants to spend time discussing the next steps of his career with his family.
“My mom, mostly. She’s kind of the big boss,” he said. “Just talk to her and see what she says.”
Dybantsa is projected to be the No. 2 pick in June’s NBA draft, according to the latest mock draft by ESPN’s Jeremy Woo.
Against the Longhorns, Dybantsa did everything he could to help the Cougars pull off a win. He scored 20 points in the first half, as Texas had a hard time containing him. During the game telecast, Longhorns coach Sean Miller said, “I don’t think we can,” when asked about slowing down Dybantsa in the first half.
Miller said Dybantsa could score like no other player. He added that Texas’ goal was to limit Dybantsa’s free throw attempts so that his players wouldn’t get into foul trouble. Still, Dybantsa was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.
“We tried a lot of different things. And again, he had 35,” Miller said.
For the season, Dybantsa averaged 25.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Cougars. He scored at least 20 points in 28 games, breaking a tie with Michael Smith (1988-89) and Devin Durrant (1983-84) for second most in a season in BYU history.
It is also the second most in a season in Big 12 history, behind Kevin Durant (30) in 2006-07.
If Thursday was indeed Dybantsa’s last time in a BYU uniform, coach Kevin Young said he is appreciative that he could be a part of a chapter in the phenom’s basketball journey.
“I think I’ll look back in 20 years and just have a lot of joy [knowing] that I was able to be a part of his story,” Young said. “There were moments in tonight’s game that he looked like an NBA player.”
