AJ Dybantsa, Chris Cenac Jr. open up on Kentucky, Mark Pope: "They're gonna make it far."

Once upon a time, No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa and No. 6 prospect Chris Cenac Jr. were atop many fan wish lists in Lexington, two consensus five-stars with varying levels of Kentucky interest — and big fish for Mark Pope.

Dybantsa previously told KSR a visit was “potentially in the works” to Lexington with Pope, who re-offered him following John Calipari’s departure with a plan of “keeping it the same Kentucky as a top team.”

Then he cut his list down to seven schools in August with the Wildcats no longer in contention. When it came time for a decision in December, he chose Pope’s old school, BYU.

KSR caught up with the No. 1 overall recruit and likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to talk about Kentucky’s push last year at USA U19 Training Camp and Pope as a coach — the two working together in Colorado Springs ahead of the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup in Switzerland. 

There wasn’t a fit during his high-profile recruitment, but Dybantsa liked what he saw from Pope in the prestigious USA Basketball event.

“He’s a good coach. I mean, I was only with him for two days because he’s one of the on-court coaches, but he taught me a lot. He’s been telling me to make my defensive presence known,” he told KSR. “(Getting recruited by him) was good. I see why BYU loved him so much, but he had to take that next step and go to Kentucky. They’re probably gonna love him even more over there.”

Dybantsa considers the late Terrence Clarke a “big brother” of his and has vowed to keep his legacy alive. That was part of the reason he had early interest in Kentucky when John Calipari was head coach.

He didn’t choose to make Lexington his next home, but he believes the Wildcats are in good hands with Pope and has always had respect for the program. Who knows, maybe their two paths will cross during March Madness next spring? The No. 1 recruit is confident Kentucky will be in position to make a run — and he’d like to be the reason that run ends.

“I mean, I heard from Pope’s staff. I also heard from (Coach) Cal’s staff. I mean, I grew up — Terrence Clarke went to Kentucky, so obviously I was watching Kentucky when I was younger,” Dybantsa told KSR. “Ultimately, I chose to go to BYU, but it’s obviously a great program. We might play them this year in the tournament or something like that. They’re gonna make it far.”

As for BYU, it was head coach Kevin Young and his staff’s NBA experience that won him over.

“They have multiple people on staff that came from the NBA, and that’s my ultimate goal,” he said. “So I want to get that knowledge early.”

Things between Cenac and Kentucky were more serious and deeper into his recruitment, the five-star forward listing the Wildcats as one of five finalists with a real shot to land his commitment.

“It was a blessing getting recruited by Kentucky. I mean, greats have come from that school and greats that have played my position like Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo,” he told KSR in Colorado Springs. “I was really blessed, Mark Pope is a great guy. He always has positive energy, a great guy to be around. At the end of the day, I was happy that they recruited me. That was obviously one of my top five schools.”

That included an official visit to Lexington in late September.

“The official visit was a lot of fun, the campus was nice — just great energy. They had a plan for me,” he continued.

Like Dybantsa, Pope got plenty of hands-on work with him at U19 Training Camp — and Cenac liked his approach. Vibes were good in Colorado Springs and the Kentucky head coach led the charge in that regard.

“He’s got great energy, a great guy to be around,” Cenac told KSR. “It’s always good having a guy like that around in this type of environment.”

What put Houston over the top to land his commitment in November?

“Just how hard Coach (Kelvin) Sampson is going to coach me and how hard they play on the defensive end, even on the offensive end,” he said. “I think that’s something that I needed in my game to get better and thrive in.”

Both what-ifs for the Wildcats had plenty of positive things to say about Pope as a coach and Kentucky as a program.

Instead, they become foes in the college basketball world for UK next season.