AJ Dybantsa

[Notanoob]

AJ is going to play the 3, it is much easier to hide him on players and he is more switchable defender than a lumbering big. AJ also won't really be counted on to defend the rim, if you are projecting as a 4/5 like Boozer rim protection is more of a needed skill.

Scottie Barnes had 11 blocks in college.
Jalen Williams had 17,11 and 18 his three seasons.

Yet everyone is going to fixate on Dybantsa block numbers this year when in the past we didn't care at all for other players. Remember when CJ Stroud S2 score was all that was talked about? It hasn't been mentioned before or after for any other draft class. People latch onto something and assign it value but there is no consistency to why it matters from year to year.

You'll notice that I didn't mention his block rate at all. If anyone's fixating on it, it's you not me. But since you brought it up, Dybantsa got fewer blocks than both of those guys despite being a whole lot taller than either of them. He also got very few steals if you're rating him as a perimeter player, and not a ton of rebounds to make up for deficiencies there. He rebounded more like a guard than a guy who's 6'10" and super athletic. Barnes also had a great steal rate and Williams had a solid one, including a great one his freshman season if we're comparing like to like.

Barnes and Williams are all defensive players in NBA. Playing defense without fouling is all that really matters in terms of winning games, Dybantsa being on the floor for 35 minutes is more valuable to BYU then him having two blocks but playing 29 mins with a bunch of fouls. It is the same with Acuff, both their teams needed their offense more then they needed an extra stock per game.

Again with these excuses. Plenty of other guys played defense without fouling in college, Dybantsa just did the "not fouling" part and forgot about the defense. Boozer also was a one-man offense who Duke couldn't go without, yet somehow he managed to get a lot more steals, more blocks, and a lot more rebounds than AJ (don't interpret this as me saying Boozer is going to be a great defender, because I'm not). And I'll reiterate, when BYU had it's full team in the first half of the year, and was therefore less reliant on Dybantsa to do everything on offense, he still wasn't playing good defense. And again, in high school AJ was also not known for his defense either.

If it was just BYU telling him not to foul, what was the issue before college exactly? 130 games played, 1.3 steals, .5 blocks, 6.6 rebounds, about the same as his college stats. He's just not doing much on that end of the court. He's a good prospect because of what he can do with the ball in his hands, and not what he's doing without it.

[King Ken]

I don't even have Dybantsa as a top 2 talent, possibly not even top 3, and here we have people taking him over Cooper or being the best since Lebron, it's insane.

I see zero case for him over Boozer.

He is the lowest feel prospect at the top tier (consensus Boozer, DP, AJ) with worst shooting, bad actual RAPM impact (zero), worst shot diet, worst shooting timing in terms of shot clock, worst steal, block among the top 3. His best attribute, his rate scoring isn't materially better than Boozer or DP.

http://vstatball.com?s=be2f84

Sounds like a bigger, more athletic DeMar DeRozan.

AJ is a better defender than the data will give him credit for due to his off ball defense being ordinary.

To me, AJ is the Carmelo Anthony of DeMar DeRozans with Tracy McGrady talent level.

In layman's. The most talented wing I've seen who maybe more of a killer. Carmelo Anthony is what you call an elite killer in a specific role.

DeMar DeRozan is really how AJ plays like but AJ is just a lot more talented.

I don't like the term Michael Jordan because it's too much praise. Melo was insane. In his prime, still the best natural scorer I've seen from a pure talent prospective. It came so easy to him.

People want to know why most of us love this guy. DeMar DeRozan is one of the biggest overachievers. AJ is an overachiever and will be one as well. None of us know what this looks like.

His talent level is just insane.

[Caneman786]

Where does this screenshot come from?

[JMAC3]

AJ is going to play the 3, it is much easier to hide him on players and he is more switchable defender than a lumbering big. AJ also won't really be counted on to defend the rim, if you are projecting as a 4/5 like Boozer rim protection is more of a needed skill.

Scottie Barnes had 11 blocks in college.
Jalen Williams had 17,11 and 18 his three seasons.

Yet everyone is going to fixate on Dybantsa block numbers this year when in the past we didn't care at all for other players. Remember when CJ Stroud S2 score was all that was talked about? It hasn't been mentioned before or after for any other draft class. People latch onto something and assign it value but there is no consistency to why it matters from year to year.

You'll notice that I didn't mention his block rate at all. If anyone's fixating on it, it's you not me. But since you brought it up, Dybantsa got fewer blocks than both of those guys despite being a whole lot taller than either of them. He also got very few steals if you're rating him as a perimeter player, and not a ton of rebounds to make up for deficiencies there. He rebounded more like a guard than a guy who's 6'10" and super athletic. Barnes also had a great steal rate and Williams had a solid one, including a great one his freshman season if we're comparing like to like.

Barnes and Williams are all defensive players in NBA. Playing defense without fouling is all that really matters in terms of winning games, Dybantsa being on the floor for 35 minutes is more valuable to BYU then him having two blocks but playing 29 mins with a bunch of fouls. It is the same with Acuff, both their teams needed their offense more then they needed an extra stock per game.

Again with these excuses. Plenty of other guys played defense without fouling in college, Dybantsa just did the "not fouling" part and forgot about the defense. Boozer also was a one-man offense who Duke couldn't go without, yet somehow he managed to get a lot more steals, more blocks, and a lot more rebounds than AJ (don't interpret this as me saying Boozer is going to be a great defender, because I'm not). And I'll reiterate, when BYU had it's full team in the first half of the year, and was therefore less reliant on Dybantsa to do everything on offense, he still wasn't playing good defense. And again, in high school AJ was also not known for his defense either.

If it was just BYU telling him not to foul, what was the issue before college exactly? 130 games played, 1.3 steals, .5 blocks, 6.6 rebounds, about the same as his college stats. He's just not doing much on that end of the court. He's a good prospect because of what he can do with the ball in his hands, and not what he's doing without it.

All I can say is watch the games to evaluate him as a defensive player. He averaged 6.8 rebounds per game which is very good for a non-center in college basketball. AJ led BYU with 239 rebounds on the season. While being their leading scorer and 2nd in assists. He must suck because he also didn't lead them in Blocks and Steals.

Also yes plenty of other guys play defense without fouling. They also aren't leading the nation in scoring. Cam Boozer played on a way more talented team than Dybantsa. Isaiah Evans, Pat Ngonba, Cayden, Foster, Sarr, Khamenia were all top 25 recruits and most will play in the NBA in some form at some point. Maliq Brown also was invited to the combine...

It is pretty common knowledge the more load you carry on offense, typically the lower your defense is... People would rather get their rocks off about a guy that plays 20 mins and averages 10 ppg but has awesome per36 numbers than actually watch a game and understand why one guy is projected to go #1 and the other is a borderline 1st round pick.

[CptCrunch]

There is no indication that Dybantsa plays defense at all. We can only make the claim that athletic players with size can play defense, except most still don't in the league.

I think defense is best played by those with elite defense IQ, players with talent naturally shown in college or by high basketball IQ players who develop the understanding.

Dybantsa reminds me of Andrew Wiggins. Supremely athletic, with elite size, and great counting stats. A little raw and a perceived to be average or worse in terms of basketball IQ. Wiggins was supposed to be a savant on defense except he was league bottom basement for many years until he developed into a 3rd option role player defender.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. If we are going with Tmac as his ceiling, why stop there, might as well go for Durant or MJ...

[King Ken]

There is no indication that Dybantsa plays defense at all. We can only make the claim that athletic players with size can play defense, except most still don't in the league.

I think defense is best played by those with elite defense IQ, players with talent naturally shown in college or by high basketball IQ players who develop the understanding.

Dybantsa reminds me of Andrew Wiggins. Supremely athletic, with elite size, and great counting stats. A little raw and a perceived to be average or worse in terms of basketball IQ. Wiggins was supposed to be a savant on defense except he was league bottom basement for many years until he developed into a 3rd option role player defender.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. If we are going with Tmac as his ceiling, why stop there, might as well go for Durant or MJ...

The data shows his guarded player shooting percentage take a tumble when he guards them. He does a pretty good job in regards to that. In a switch defense, that might be a tough fit but if I basically allow man to man, I don't see as much of an issue for AJ.

AJ is simply a lot better mentally than Andrew. DeMar is really his style. AJ is a couple tiers ahead of DeMar as a shooter at the same stage but otherwise, they are very similar. AJ is probably world's better as a passer. Even though both are raw passers at the same stage, AJ has TMac abilities passing whereas DeMar passing abilities are limited.

https://tankathon.com/players/compare?players=aj-dybantsa--demar-derozan

I don't know what the best of AJ looks like but I seen DeMar. He really overachieves. AJ does that with his talent, that's some insane **** we gonna see

[JMAC3]

There is no indication that Dybantsa plays defense at all. We can only make the claim that athletic players with size can play defense, except most still don't in the league.

I think defense is best played by those with elite defense IQ, players with talent naturally shown in college or by high basketball IQ players who develop the understanding.

Dybantsa reminds me of Andrew Wiggins. Supremely athletic, with elite size, and great counting stats. A little raw and a perceived to be average or worse in terms of basketball IQ. Wiggins was supposed to be a savant on defense except he was league bottom basement for many years until he developed into a 3rd option role player defender.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. If we are going with Tmac as his ceiling, why stop there, might as well go for Durant or MJ...

Dybantsa averaged 25 ppg as a college freshman
Wiggins averaged 17 ppg as a college freshman
Jaylen Brown averaged 14.6 ppg as a freshman
Demar Derozan averaged 13.9 ppg as a fresh

I know everyone always likes to over complicate things but Dybantsa is miles ahead of these scorers right now. So yes it isn't crazy to think he could be a TMac level scorer if things go well for him.

Kd Averaged 25.8 ppg, so Dybantsa is a lot closer to that number than Derozan. Also KD had a 33 inch vert, Dybantsa has a 42 inch vert.

Again, nobody should say he is definitely KD, but I also think you are massively underselling him as a talent.

[CptCrunch]

There is no indication that Dybantsa plays defense at all. We can only make the claim that athletic players with size can play defense, except most still don't in the league.

I think defense is best played by those with elite defense IQ, players with talent naturally shown in college or by high basketball IQ players who develop the understanding.

Dybantsa reminds me of Andrew Wiggins. Supremely athletic, with elite size, and great counting stats. A little raw and a perceived to be average or worse in terms of basketball IQ. Wiggins was supposed to be a savant on defense except he was league bottom basement for many years until he developed into a 3rd option role player defender.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. If we are going with Tmac as his ceiling, why stop there, might as well go for Durant or MJ...

Dybantsa averaged 25 ppg as a college freshman
Wiggins averaged 17 ppg as a college freshman
Jaylen Brown averaged 14.6 ppg as a freshman
Demar Derozan averaged 13.9 ppg as a fresh

I know everyone always likes to over complicate things but Dybantsa is miles ahead of these scorers right now. So yes it isn't crazy to think he could be a TMac level scorer if things go well for him.

Kd Averaged 25.8 ppg, so Dybantsa is a lot closer to that number than Derozan. Also KD had a 33 inch vert, Dybantsa has a 42 inch vert.

Again, nobody should say he is definitely KD, but I also think you are massively underselling him as a talent.

Except you are implying he is. Peterson and Boozer's rate scoring stats are on par with AJ's fyi. In fact, this entire draft is full of high scoring freshmen guards also. Scoring empty points don't matter much. AJ is a prolific scorer. His relatively low feels is gonna be a wart. My issue this perception that he is somehow all of a sudden consensus number 1.

Caleb Wilson's PT/40 is only 14% worse at 25.2 vs 29.3 per 40. This year is full of scoring talent.

[GSWFan1994]

As with basically all wings, if he finetunes his ballhandling a bit, that will open up his game even more. Mainly his playmaking.

He already has great footwork and those amazing strides, coupled with his explosive first step, makes him a tough cover... but I feel like his ballhandling is not quite there yet.

I'm not worried about his defense and passing, I believe that will come over time. There were rawer players in the past who were able to overcome that. You easily see the flashes of greatness there.

[Caneman786]

AJ is getting underrated at this point if anything, not overrated.

Should he be getting 90% of the vote in these polls or something?

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

[JMAC3]

AJ is getting underrated at this point if anything, not overrated.

Should he be getting 90% of the vote in these polls or something?

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Yeah probably.
Best body, best athlete, best scorer and has most lineup versatility.

Peterson has injury concerns, playmaking concerns and might be positionally locked into playing the 2.
Boozer has mobility concerns and vertical pop concerns. He also might be locked into playing the 4 depending on rim protection.

AJ can probably play 2-4 from day 1, while also being able to innate offense as primary handler.

[prime1time]

There is no indication that Dybantsa plays defense at all. We can only make the claim that athletic players with size can play defense, except most still don't in the league.

I think defense is best played by those with elite defense IQ, players with talent naturally shown in college or by high basketball IQ players who develop the understanding.

Dybantsa reminds me of Andrew Wiggins. Supremely athletic, with elite size, and great counting stats. A little raw and a perceived to be average or worse in terms of basketball IQ. Wiggins was supposed to be a savant on defense except he was league bottom basement for many years until he developed into a 3rd option role player defender.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. If we are going with Tmac as his ceiling, why stop there, might as well go for Durant or MJ...

But look at how silly this your average case is. Jaylen Brown at Cal averaged 14.6/5.4/2 on 43.1/29.4/65.4. Dybantsa averaged 25.5/6.8/3.7. In what world should Brown be his average case? But this doesn't even do AJ justice because he got better throughout the year. When people don't watch tape, you'd miss this. AJ in post season play averaged 32/7.8/3 on 50/28.6/91.9. Brown during post season play averged 8/3/2.7 on 17.2/12.5/76.5. Comparing AJ to Jaylen rown is just intellectual laziness. Dybantsa broke KD's record for points scored in the big 12 tournament. The comparison to Demar Derozan is equally lazy.

Why do these comps fail? AJ is significantly more skilled than Brown, Derozan and KD in college. KD was a better shooter but KD did not play pg. AJ did, from day 1. His handles is the best I've seen for a player his size. This leads to him generting an amazing amount of free throws. In post season play AJ averaged 9.3 free throw attempts a game. AJ is significantly taller than Brown 6'8.5 barefoot to Brown's 6'5.25 barefoot. He also towers over Derozan. The Wiggins comparison is also laughable and just indicative of the fact that you don't actually watch AJ play. Wiggins in college did not play pg. He averaged 1.6 assists. AJ initiated the offense and play pg the majority of the season. Talking about how he's worse in terms of Basketball iq, again is laughable. Go and actually watch the games.

You don't have the success that AJ has without understanding the game. I've made posts about this on the wizards board and I'll quote them here.

Watch on YouTube

When you watch a lot of basketball you start to formulate assumptions. Every now and then, a player breaks your assumptions. AJ Dybantsa is a player who has obviously had high level conversations with other elite basketball players. Conversations about how to approach the game. People aren't going to like the comparison I'm going to make but I have to make it. When you watch LBJ in the playoffs, he completely takes over the offense. He orders people around. Especially his second run in Cleveland. It was his team. He was the alpha. He led it. When you watch AJ Dybantsa play, it's clear that he's operating on another level.

Dybantsa calls plays. But it's not just that he's calling plays, but he understands why. He understands the matchups they are trying to get. He directs players so to cut through the lane so their defender can't help. He's far beyond merely trying to beat his defender. He's in the realm of running plays to create mismatches, that he can use to his advantage. This is high level basketball.

Look at this play at 37:20. AJ tells his two teammates in the lane to switch places. He knows he's going to cut to the opposite wing. He knows that after he cuts his the player closest to him will be screened by the player on the opposing wing. Then that player will screen for him. The goal of the entire action is to get Baylor's big to switch onto AJ. But his teammates aren't lined up for the switch to happen so he tells them to switch places. They switch places, the play runs, AJ cuts, the Big follows and ultimately AJ gets the switch. Then AJ blows by the big for the easy dunk. This is not a one off. The entire game he's directing his teammates.

It's as if, AJ sits above the team and understands the why. He understands that in order for the current possession to be successful, his teammates have to be in the right positions otherwise there defenders will help. Think about everything that had to happen in order to make this play possible. AJ had to know the matchup that he wanted. He had to know where he wants the ball. He had to talk to Coach Young about plays to make it possible. Then he had to think through the game on the fly and immediately recognize the issue and correct it. Most players struggle with merely learning the playbook. AJ not only knows the plays but he knows why they are called. He understands the goal.

When your this physically gifted, and you have the skills Dybantsa has and you are willing to put in the time to understand the game, watch film and put yourself in position to be successful, you are very hard to stop. He just turned 19 and he's doing this. I've never seen a freshman take complete control of an offense before. I've never seen a freshman think through the game on the fly before.

[prime1time]

When an apex predator comes along some fans clutch their pearls and start to conjure boogeymen in their head. Instead of actually watching tape and analyzing said player they just throw out erroneous comparisons that don't fit. Not because they dislike said player but because they don't want said player to be on the level of their nostalgic heroes. Dybantsa is 6'8.5 barefoot, he has a 42 inch vertical and he's as fast as John Wall. Every game Dybantsa played in he got better. After Richie Saunders went out he got even better. He increased his usage but he was kept his efficiency. Dybantsa faced double teams and triple teams this year and still excelled.

Here's some perspective. Texas has a projected first round pick in Dailyn Swain. He's 6'6.5 barefoot. They have a 7 footer in Matas Vokietaitis. They have another player who's 6'7 215 in Camden Heide. This is legit NBA size. This is what the Texas coach had to say about Dybantsa.

Read on Twitter

Mind you, BYU couldn't even make them pay for doubling. Texas would double and then rotate the center over for additional help. If you think teams in college were doing this to Wiggins, Derozan, Jaylen Brown, Paolo or even Tatum, Ant, Cade you're not living in reality. AJ is on a different level compared to those guys. Much closer to a player like MJ tbh. If AJ keeps on improving it will be scary for the rest of the NBA.

[The-Power]

Serious question – who's the last player on Dybantsa's level as a Freshman wing scorer in college? I checked the past twenty years and had to go back to Durant and Beasley to find someone who truly compares. The only certainly more dominant scorer I saw was Zion but obviously he played a different position and role. It's insane what AJ has done this season as a scorer, especially considering the roster limitations and his on-ball role (one of the reasons I'd argue that he benefits less from the increased efficiency for scorers in college due to better spacing). He has his shortcomings, no question, but as an on-ball scorer he might very well be the best prospect coming out of college that we've seen in 20 years.

On a related note, the scoring seasons of the top prospects in this draft are insane. A lot of people have become less enthusiastic about this draft after the season ended and I can empathize with that when it comes to depth considering how many good prospects opted to return. But this is still a really strong draft at the top. And an important part of that are the ridiculous scoring seasons we've just witnessed.

Player – Points per 100 (TS%)

Dybantsa – 41.8 (60.0)
Boozer – 40.3 (65.3)
Wilson – 36.9 (62.6)
Peterson – 40.7 (57.8)
Acuff – 36.7 (60.4)

Five Freshmen. All of them scoring 35+ PP100 – three of them more than 40 (which is a rare feat) – and four out of of five have a TS% of 60+. Truly mind-blowing when you go through the past years and compare that to the top prospects of previous drafts. It's entirely unprecedented from what I've seen.

[FrodoBaggins]

This guy, but 3 to 4 inches bigger and more athletic. Add an extra 3 to 5 PPG and .030 to .050 TS% to his scoring production, due to superior rim scoring, FT drawing, and era differences. I think the style of offense, basketball IQ, passing/playmaking, and defense are all relatively similar. Same strengths, just amplified; same weaknesses.

Expect some 30+ PPG, .600+ TS% seasons.

I'd still take Boozer over him, though. I think he's going to have that scorer's mentality to the detriment of defense, shot selection, off-ball offense, and passing/playmaking. General team play stuff. An incredible bucket getter that grinds the pace and ball movement to a halt, and prioritizes his gas tank toward on-ball and isolation scoring.

The opportunity cost of playing Dybantsa Ball saps his impact and makes fitting with other talent potentially questionable. I'm not sure he'll ever have Shai's or Harden's handle and point guard qualities, which make their on-ball heavy, isolation approach more palatable in a team context. AJ will be a primary creator, but more of a wing scorer who operates in the slot and passes out only when he absolutely has to.

Watch on YouTube

[Caneman786]

When an apex predator comes along some fans clutch their pearls and start to conjure boogeymen in their head. Instead of actually watching tape and analyzing said player they just throw out erroneous comparisons that don't fit. Not because they dislike said player but because they don't want said player to be on the level of their nostalgic heroes.

This is very erroneous. Not only is nobody doing this, nobody has shown any indication of doing it either this whole thread and I don't think it's common anywhere else either. Discourse surrounding AJ is overwhelmingly positive all across the basketball world, as the next Tracy McGrady.

Something that has much more basis is the idea that you're overrating AJ because you are a Wizards fan and have been getting excited for him due to the prevailing presumption that he will be heading to Washington.

they just throw out erroneous comparisons that don't fit.

Also, would you not agree that DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown are legends of the game? Any prospect should be honored to be compared to them.

[prime1time]

When an apex predator comes along some fans clutch their pearls and start to conjure boogeymen in their head. Instead of actually watching tape and analyzing said player they just throw out erroneous comparisons that don't fit. Not because they dislike said player but because they don't want said player to be on the level of their nostalgic heroes.

This is very erroneous. Not only is nobody doing this, nobody has shown any indication of doing it either this whole thread and I don't think it's common anywhere else either. Discourse surrounding AJ is overwhelmingly positive all across the basketball world, as the next Tracy McGrady.

Something that has much more basis is the idea that you're overrating AJ because you are a Wizards fan and have been getting excited for him due to the prevailing presumption that he will be heading to Washington.

they just throw out erroneous comparisons that don't fit.

Also, would you not agree that DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown are legends of the game? Any prospect should be honored to be compared to them.

Dybantsa's low end outcome is a late career Wiggins or a budget all-star DeRozan. His average case is probably Jaylen Brown, whose name has absolutely nothing do with any MVP of any form. I

What is this? Wiggins or a Budget Derozan. Jaylen Brown as a comp?

[prime1time]

This guy, but 3 to 4 inches bigger and more athletic. Add an extra 3 to 5 PPG and .030 to .050 TS% to his scoring production, due to superior rim scoring, FT drawing, and era differences. I think the style of offense, basketball IQ, passing/playmaking, and defense are all relatively similar. Same strengths, just amplified; same weaknesses.

Expect some 30+ PPG, .600+ TS% seasons.

I'd still take Boozer over him, though. I think he's going to have that scorer's mentality to the detriment of defense, shot selection, off-ball offense, and passing/playmaking. General team play stuff. An incredible bucket getter that grinds the pace and ball movement to a halt, and prioritizes his gas tank toward on-ball and isolation scoring.

The opportunity cost of playing Dybantsa Ball saps his impact and makes fitting with other talent potentially questionable. I'm not sure he'll ever have Shai's or Harden's handle and point guard qualities, which make their on-ball heavy, isolation approach more palatable in a team context. AJ will be a primary creator, but more of a wing scorer who operates in the slot and passes out only when he absolutely has to.

Watch on YouTube

I don't get this take. The context a player plays in dictates how a player plays. Put AJ on the Duke team last year instead of Cooper Flagg. Do you think AJ plays the same style? Put Coop on this BYU team after Richie Saunders goes down. How does Coop play? People on this thread underestimate just how much team fit and coaching plays a role in a players development. Don't just put the ball in AJ's hands. Force him to develop a well rounded game. Hold him accountable to playing defense. Push him to develop his 3-point shot. Regardless of what team drafts him, this what they should do.

[prime1time]

AJ is #1 easily. Watching how he dealt with pressure and how Boozer dealt with pressure was night and day

Could you go into more detail on how AJ dealt with pressure?

I'm not seeing it, since AJ didn't perform exceptionally well (and really hasn't in his last few games).

The scoring is cool, but his usage is easily over 40%, the efficiency is way down, he's turned into a turnover machine, and doesn't even seem to be trying to play defense (compared to a normal college player). It's not like he's getting into foul trouble. He didn't do anything special here, a bunch of guys do this, and AJ went all-in.

With Richie Saunders maybe this stuff looks better, but you can only play with who you have on the team (and let's be honest, it wouldn't be that much better, this just seems to be what AJ does in big games).

In contrast, Boozer in his "bad games" has been better than Dybantsa in these "good games". He even got a clutch block this last game to seal the victory (more defensive importance than AJ's entire last few games?). And even it's against the 16 seed, but they were way down. And it's two clutch games in a row now that he's kept his composure, sinking free throws, making the right play etc. Boozer even came away with both of these last two games with better Bart-Torvik BPM's than AJ Dybantsa did in his last two (Tonight Boozer in his comeback win had +9.9 while Dybantsa had +6.5 in a loss where he never even came back, and against Virginia in the CLUTCH WIN to seal the ACC title Boozer was +5.5, a season low!, and Dybantsa still was lower having +5.3 in his loss to Houston).

You can think AJ's the better prospect, but the difference in how they dealt with pressure isn't that crazy. Boozer's was probably better, honestly. The pressure is way higher to win on Duke due to how much they're expected to win (and with the two starters out, one being the second-best player on the team and the defensive anchor, it doesn't even matter since nobody would care about that).

On the complete opposite side, nobody's gonna blame AJ for losing. You already see it in this thread, all the replies flooding in. He can go out there and chuck without being worried that his draft stock is at stake. He doesn't have to worry about teammates, or the coach, criticism, the possibility of his draft stock falling, or anything like that.

Boozer's under way more pressure to play proper team basketball on both ends, has faced real adversity twice now in the last two games (which would seriously hurt his image if he lost either), and came through strong, not giving up, and pulling off the wins, twice!

What is this dealing with pressure? Boozer goes to Duke and plays with a loaded roster. I saw Boozer crumble against Caleb Wilson and Duke. I saw games where Boozer could just defer scoring because it wasn't advantageous. For as good as Boozer is in post season play he shot only 44% from the field. Meanwhile in post season play Dybantsa shot 50% from the field. And Dybantsa faced double teams with a center rotating over. Holding up Boozer's stats to compare him to AJ while not pointing out that Boozer plays on one of the most stacked teams is an interesting choice.

There is no comparison between Boozer and Dybantsa. Duke blew out opponents when Boozer went 3-9 and won games when Boozer went 3-17, 7/16, 4/11 etc. I really think that this is a myth pushed by Boozer supporters to create false narratives.

Watch on YouTube

22 points in the second half for AJ and he assisted on another 9 points. So he accounted for 31 points in the second half. Boozer is a player built to dominate college and he did that up until the post season. For a transformative player, Boozer's post season play was very efficiency was very disappointing.

[prime1time]

Boozer's supposed to be this super skilled offensive player. But it's fair to wonder how Boozer would perform if he was asked to truly carry a team and deliver every game like AJ was. Boozer gets the best of both worlds. Credit for being a winner, while also being able to win when he plays poorly. Ultimately none of this matters. AJ's season wasn't about putting up stats, it was about learning to perform offensively in adverse situations. The lessons that AJ learned this season will be very benefical in the NBA. AJ will find playing in the NBA significantly easier than playing in College. If the Wizards draft AJ, we'll have actual talent to put around him. Meanwhile if Boozer goes to Memphis or Chicago he'll be on teams that have limited talent. I expect Boozer supporters to be intellectually consistent and not point out the context.