Duke trolls North Carolina with Zion Williamson post after AJ Dybantsa recruiting report surfaces
The BYU Cougars recently landed the services of the nation’s most coveted basketball star in the 2025 recruiting class, AJ Dybantsa. In the world of NIL, of course he didn’t come at a cheap price. And as you might imagine, the nation’s blue blood basketball programs like North Carolina were also battling it out for his services. And the Tar Heels used a weird recruiting strategy, basically telling Dybantsa what a year at a blue blood program like Duke did for Zion Williamson’s marketing and contract money. That was according to a report from Matt Norlander of CBS.
Once the report of that story surfaced on Wednesday evening, Duke basketball decided to troll UNC with a gif of Zion Williamson, since the ‘Heels struck out on the nation’s No. 1 overall basketball star.
AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country, has committed to BYU, a source told On3.
Top 10
- 1New
Kirk Herbstreit
Calling out CFP after Indiana loss
- 2Hot
Lane Kiffin
Ole Miss HC calls out CFP committee
- 3
Notre Dame vs. Georgia odds
Early Sugar Bowl line released
- 4
Nick Saban
Fed up, calling for change
- 5Trending
Desmond Howard
CGD host calls out Ryan Day
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The 6-foot-9 small forward originally from Brockton, Mass. chose the Cougars over North Carolina, Kansas, and Alabama. Dybantsa, a senior at Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah, becomes the highest-ranked recruit to ever choose BYU — by a wide margin.
The Kevin Young era is off to a rolling start and the Cougars are recruiting at elite levels.
Dybantsa becomes the third commitment for BYU in the 2025 class, joining four-star C Xavion Staton (No. 29 nationally) and three-star PF Chamberlain Burgess (No. 158).
More on 2025 No. 1 prospect AJ Dybantsa
On3 national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw wrote this about Dybantsa following the latest rankings update.
“In June I was at the USA Basketball U17 Training Camp. The setting of the camp had a couple of pre-approved media members along with NBA Scouts watching as they whittled down the list from 33 to the final 13. Sitting among the NBA Scouts throughout the open sessions of the Training Camp, during our conversation one scout matter-of-factly stated, “AJ Dybantsa would be the No. 1 player in this year’s draft (2024), next year’s draft (2025), and in the 2026 NBA Draft.”
“This thought process has been a common sentiment among scouts over the past few months of being able to watch high school prospects play live. Another NBA scout told me in conversation, “At this stage, Dybtantsa is the best domestic prospect I’ve scouted in the past 10 years.”
“After watching Dybantsa throughout the summer, in various team and camp settings, the conversation for No. 1 in this update was not a very long one. In fact, Dybantsa has continued to separate himself from his high school-aged peers and is currently in a top tier of his own within his high school class.
“At On3 we have never shied away from transparency in our rankings process. At the end of the day, we are ranking toward NBA Draft night. In this point in the process, as we wrap up these players’ final summer of travel ball, having eyes firmly planted on senior seasons, Dybantsa’s attainable ceiling is simply too high to ignore. That is why he remains in a tier of his own in the 2025 recruiting cycle.”
On3’s Jamie Shaw and Joe Tipton also contributed to this article.