AJ Dybantsa

[EvanZ]

I thought that Steinbach kid looked pretty good.

[clyde21]

We will see how the skill development goes at BYU. The athleticism and a lot of skills you'd like in a wing are there, but he really puts his head down and gets into trouble and the jumper is below average. That said, I feel pretty strongly about him being a good NBA player.

these jumbo wing prospects, as exciting (and valuable if they hit) as they can be, are always a tough read.

like, is he LeBron/Doncic (point forward), is he KD/PG (freak scorer), or he something below that? because below that is a huge valley of guys like Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Williams and Kevin Knox types.

unless he's just completely freaky at BYU, he'll probably be in the same bucket as Ace Bailey for me: top 5 because you just need to make that bet because if it hits it's franchise-changing, but it's also the toughest archetype to reach stardom imo.

[babyjax13]

We will see how the skill development goes at BYU. The athleticism and a lot of skills you'd like in a wing are there, but he really puts his head down and gets into trouble and the jumper is below average. That said, I feel pretty strongly about him being a good NBA player.

these jumbo wing prospects, as exciting (and valuable if they hit) as they can be, are always a tough read.

like, is he LeBron/Doncic (point forward), is he KD/PG (freak scorer), or he something below that? because below that is a huge valley of guys like Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Williams and Kevin Knox types.

unless he's just completely freaky at BYU, he'll probably be in the same bucket as Ace Bailey for me: top 5 because you just need to make that bet because if it hits it's franchise-changing, but it's also the toughest archetype to reach stardom imo.

I think he is already more skilled than Kuminga/Williams/Knox, but yes, the question is will he merely be really good (say ... Wiggins or Rudy Gay), or an absolute star (McGrady, etc.).

[Rainwater]

Watching Team US I really don’t see the hype regarding AJ. Peterson really might be the better player. AJ might share the same fate as Mayo, Barrett, Wiggins where he just doesn’t live up to the hype. Hopefully, it changes in college.

I've watched AJ a few times now including some yesterday and I just don't see what everyone else seems to see. But I'm open to changing my opinion in the next year.

This is where I am at

[Wingy]

I thought the same whenever I saw some highlight clips of him.
I have the same feeling when I watch him as when I had watching RJ Barrett in High School and Fiba U19 WC while everybody else was praising him. Similiar to Wiggins also. Similar type of player with similiar weeknesses.

Just something about him that throws me off. I dont like prospect who make it seem "hard". RJ Barrett scored 39 points or whatever against the US and everyone went crazy, but every single point felt like it was the hardest thing to do for him. Just forcing and bulldozing his way through players, settling for tough mid range jumpers because he couldnt beat his man. When I see that I dont think "wow what a tough jumper he made, really nice", I think "all I see is someone who can't even comfortably beat his man at the youth level, those jumpers will not always fall".
When you're looking at a prospect you dont care about the points at the end, you should care about HOW he gets those points. An elite #1 level prospect needs to make things look easy. RJ ran into 3 defenders and made a tough layup but thats not a good sign. If you have to bulldoze and force yourself through defenders, even if you get the points at the end, thats not a good sign about how strong you are, its a bad sign about how bad you are at beating your man of the dribble and having to settle yourself to taking tough shots. In games like in the Canada - US game these shots might go in and you might have a good day, but thats not indicative of your talent.

And AJ gives me the same vibe as RJ back then, I just see him struggle way too much against this level of defenders.


Like this basket at 2:20

Watch on YouTube

Yeah he got the tough layup and 2 points, but thats not a good sign. If you already have to settle for such a tough floater while running into the defender, its not gonna get better at the NBA level. Unless you're elite at converting floaters and tough layups like that, youre gonna struggle.

Not saying he is bad or anything, RJ Barret isnt either. But I dont see this superstar level wing player that people hyped him up to be

I’ll have to watch much more obviously, but at least his highlights, he def pops more than I ever recall feeling with RJ. I’m a big anti-RJ guy…nothing against personality (of which I know little), just more about his game compared to his name.

The eye test means a lot to me. I’m not special, I’ve just lived long enough to have seen a good amount…something hundreds and hundreds more on this board will gain in time if they haven’t already…and there are plenty more of all ages better than I.
That said, we’ll see, and I’ll be on the lookout for what you’re calling out. I absolutely look for the same kinds of things. A future star should pop and make it look easy vs guys his own age. Sounds like you’ve definitely watched much more, but I wonder about the one example. Does the the defender reach and pull on or body up on his strong hand? You see the defender’s right hand come across right before AJ forcefully brushes him off…that makes me wonder if it was a reach or bit of a grab. Regardless, that’s nitpicking and I understand that’s just a single example of what you’ve seen more than once.

[TYO23]

Hopefully Kevin Young and his staff can shore up his 3 point jumper a bit…

I wasn’t as down on his U19 performance as others were.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Hopefully Kevin Young and his staff can shore up his 3 point jumper a bit…

I wasn’t as down on his U19 performance as others were.

it's funny how expectation clouds judgement. my dude was the mf'n MVP and people are disappointed.

[Duke4life831]

I feel like AJ is what everyone was expecting/hoping Ace to be.

AJ is the huge guard/wing with high level athleticism and high level shot making ability.

He didn’t shoot the 3 well at the World Cup, but he did everything else at a high level. And it’s not like he’s some horrific shooter or has a broken jumper. The form on the jumper is solid and he’s been an average to solid shooter. So it’s not like he has no potential as a shooter, he just had an off week.

I don’t think he’s on the level of prospect as Flagg like some have been trying to say over the last year +. But he’s no doubt a damn good prospect.

[SeattleJazzFan]

I feel like AJ is what everyone was expecting/hoping Ace to be.

AJ is the huge guard/wing with high level athleticism and high level shot making ability.

He didn’t shoot the 3 well at the World Cup, but he did everything else at a high level. And it’s not like he’s some horrific shooter or has a broken jumper. The form on the jumper is solid and he’s been an average to solid shooter. So it’s not like he has no potential as a shooter, he just had an off week.

I don’t think he’s on the level of prospect as Flagg like some have been trying to say over the last year +. But he’s no doubt a damn good prospect.

and that Ace himself might still be.

[NO-KG-AI]

A little off topic, but if I took a guy first expecting him to be a #1 scorer and top tier wing and he had George’s scoring production, I’d be disappointed. For someone touted as such a top skill and smoothness guy, only going over 24.5 in one outlier year in this scoring friendly era is pretty disappointing. He’s been way more like Brandon Ingram than he’s been like KD, or Kawhi, or Tatum or whoever else he gets put up there with.

But from the little I’ve seen, I think Dybantsa is way more aggressive and forceful, whicu bodes well.

[JustBuzzin]

I feel like AJ is what everyone was expecting/hoping Ace to be.

AJ is the huge guard/wing with high level athleticism and high level shot making ability.

He didn’t shoot the 3 well at the World Cup, but he did everything else at a high level. And it’s not like he’s some horrific shooter or has a broken jumper. The form on the jumper is solid and he’s been an average to solid shooter. So it’s not like he has no potential as a shooter, he just had an off week.

I don’t think he’s on the level of prospect as Flagg like some have been trying to say over the last year +. But he’s no doubt a damn good prospect.

and that Ace himself might still be.

Ace if giving me Tmac vibes. He has all the talent and skills, now it's about playing smarter. Cut back on the bad shots and the sky is the limit for this kid.

[Rainwater]

I feel like AJ is what everyone was expecting/hoping Ace to be.

AJ is the huge guard/wing with high level athleticism and high level shot making ability.

He didn’t shoot the 3 well at the World Cup, but he did everything else at a high level. And it’s not like he’s some horrific shooter or has a broken jumper. The form on the jumper is solid and he’s been an average to solid shooter. So it’s not like he has no potential as a shooter, he just had an off week.

I don’t think he’s on the level of prospect as Flagg like some have been trying to say over the last year +. But he’s no doubt a damn good prospect.

and that Ace himself might still be.

Ace if giving me Tmac vibes. He has all the talent and skills, now it's about playing smarter. Cut back on the bad shots and the sky is the limit for this kid.

As a huge T-Mac fan, I really don't know where people are getting this comparison from; Ace and T-Mac play nothing alike. Other than being 6'9 and both having a jumper their games are not the same. T-Mac was pretty much a point forward and had guard skills coming out of High School; Ace can barely get to the rim or create for others now. Ace will have to improve his creation ability quite a bit to get anywhere near T-Mac and being able to create is pretty damn once in the league. Ace is closer to a Brandon Miller or an athletic Jabari Smith in my opinion.

[Rainwater]

Hopefully Kevin Young and his staff can shore up his 3 point jumper a bit…

I wasn’t as down on his U19 performance as others were.

it's funny how expectation clouds judgement. my dude was the mf'n MVP and people are disappointed.

There have been a ton of guys who were highly ranked out of High School and did not meet expectations. Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Quincy Miller, OJ Mayo, Perry Jones, Emoni Bates, I can go on and on. Typically, most are exposed in college. If AJ doesn't meet expectations, he won't be the first and he won't be the last.

[BigGargamel]

and that Ace himself might still be.

Ace if giving me Tmac vibes. He has all the talent and skills, now it's about playing smarter. Cut back on the bad shots and the sky is the limit for this kid.

As a huge T-Mac fan, I really don't know where people are getting this comparison from; Ace and T-Mac play nothing alike. Other than being 6'9 and both having a jumper their games are not the same. T-Mac was pretty much a point forward and had guard skills coming out of High School; Ace can barely get to the rim or create for others now. Ace will have to improve his creation ability quite a bit to get anywhere near T-Mac and being able to create is pretty damn once in the league. Ace is closer to a Brandon Miller or an athletic Jabari Smith in my opinion.

It's a bad comparison. Ace is a tunnel vision scorer, with no passing or playmaking ability (maybe the ability is there, but he never cared to show it).

I would say Dybansta is the guy you want to hope becomes T-Mac, but Ace is nothing like him.

[Rainwater]

Ace if giving me Tmac vibes. He has all the talent and skills, now it's about playing smarter. Cut back on the bad shots and the sky is the limit for this kid.

As a huge T-Mac fan, I really don't know where people are getting this comparison from; Ace and T-Mac play nothing alike. Other than being 6'9 and both having a jumper their games are not the same. T-Mac was pretty much a point forward and had guard skills coming out of High School; Ace can barely get to the rim or create for others now. Ace will have to improve his creation ability quite a bit to get anywhere near T-Mac and being able to create is pretty damn once in the league. Ace is closer to a Brandon Miller or an athletic Jabari Smith in my opinion.

It's a bad comparison. Ace is a tunnel vision scorer, with no passing or playmaking ability (maybe the ability is there, but he never cared to show it).

I would say Dybansta is the guy you want to hope becomes T-Mac, but Ace is nothing like him.

Dybansta’s creation ability is better than Ace but wouldn’t compare him to T-Mac either. My comparison for AJ, if he hits his peak, would be Jaylen Brown.

[BigGargamel]

As a huge T-Mac fan, I really don't know where people are getting this comparison from; Ace and T-Mac play nothing alike. Other than being 6'9 and both having a jumper their games are not the same. T-Mac was pretty much a point forward and had guard skills coming out of High School; Ace can barely get to the rim or create for others now. Ace will have to improve his creation ability quite a bit to get anywhere near T-Mac and being able to create is pretty damn once in the league. Ace is closer to a Brandon Miller or an athletic Jabari Smith in my opinion.

It's a bad comparison. Ace is a tunnel vision scorer, with no passing or playmaking ability (maybe the ability is there, but he never cared to show it).

I would say Dybansta is the guy you want to hope becomes T-Mac, but Ace is nothing like him.

Dybansta’s creation ability is better than Ace but wouldn’t compare him to T-Mac either. My comparison for AJ, if he hits his peak, would be Jaylen Brown.

To be honest, I don't know if we will ever see another T-Mac again. High schools really don't develop guys in that way anymore.

[Rainwater]

It's a bad comparison. Ace is a tunnel vision scorer, with no passing or playmaking ability (maybe the ability is there, but he never cared to show it).

I would say Dybansta is the guy you want to hope becomes T-Mac, but Ace is nothing like him.

Dybansta’s creation ability is better than Ace but wouldn’t compare him to T-Mac either. My comparison for AJ, if he hits his peak, would be Jaylen Brown.

To be honest, I don't know if we will ever see another T-Mac again. High schools really don't develop guys in that way anymore.

True

[azcatz11]

It's a bad comparison. Ace is a tunnel vision scorer, with no passing or playmaking ability (maybe the ability is there, but he never cared to show it).

I would say Dybansta is the guy you want to hope becomes T-Mac, but Ace is nothing like him.

Dybansta’s creation ability is better than Ace but wouldn’t compare him to T-Mac either. My comparison for AJ, if he hits his peak, would be Jaylen Brown.

To be honest, I don't know if we will ever see another T-Mac again. High schools really don't develop guys in that way anymore.

What do you mean by that?

[clyde21]

A little off topic, but if I took a guy first expecting him to be a #1 scorer and top tier wing and he had George’s scoring production, I’d be disappointed. For someone touted as such a top skill and smoothness guy, only going over 24.5 in one outlier year in this scoring friendly era is pretty disappointing. He’s been way more like Brandon Ingram than he’s been like KD, or Kawhi, or Tatum or whoever else he gets put up there with.

But from the little I’ve seen, I think Dybantsa is way more aggressive and forceful, whicu bodes well.

good point, for some reason I always think of PG13 as a freak scorer but really looking at it he had 1 peak season of 28ppg, next one was at 24ppg and the rest 23 and under, 20ppg for his career.

[SeattleJazzFan]

40.5" vertical at 6'9". I approve.