AJ Dybantsa reclassifies to 2025, remains No. 1 overall

Brockton, MA native and major Kentucky basketball target AJ Dybantsa has reclassified to 2025 and now holds firm as the No. 1 prospect in the junior class.

The five-star wing, who holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Michigan and Texas, among other schools, announced his decision to move up on Wednesday.

“The time is right to officially announce that I have reclassed to the class of 2025,” Dybantsa said.

The time is right to officially announce that I have reclassed to the class of 2025 ! @ProlificPrep pic.twitter.com/zbh6uEMLOJ

— AJ Dybantsa (@ADybantsa) October 11, 2023

Playing up two age groups with the 17Us this summer, the 6-8 wing led the Nike EYBL Peach Jam with 25.8 points while adding 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.8 minutes per contest. That’s where he firmly solidified himself as a contender in the best-in-the-world debate, regardless of class.

Now we know what class he’ll be coming out of as he takes his talents to the next level.

Long and athletic with a knack for scoring, the next big thing out of Massachusetts worked out with the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Chris Paul this summer. He’s already being welcomed into the NBA brotherhood, and he’s barely old enough to drive a car.

“Really, I feel like I can do a little bit of everything,” he told KSR. “I can play defense, I can make plays and I can score. I can do everything.”

Former Kentucky guard Terrence Clarke served as a mentor for Dybantsa before his tragic passing in 2021. When the basketball world lost a promising young talent, the fellow Expressions Elite standout lost a family member.

“He was like my big brother. You could say that we were cousins — we weren’t related, but basically cousins,” Dybantsa said. “I was ‘little brother’ every time he came back (to the area). … I’ve known him since I got to Expressions, so the fourth grade. I didn’t know Expressions (before him). If you knew him, you probably knew Expressions. He was a star.

“… That was my idol. Ever since he passed away, I do the basketball stuff for him. Everything is for him. I’m just trying to carry his legacy.”

Now his goal is to pick up where Clarke left off and become the player the former Wildcat hoped to become in the NBA. He wants to be an all-time great.

“(I want to be) a Hall of Famer,” Dybantsa told KSR. “Me and my trainer talk about it all the time. ‘Hey, you want to be a Hall of Famer, right?’ That’s the goal.”

John Calipari and the Kentucky coaching staff hope the five-star prospect takes his first step toward that goal in Lexington.