"There's more stuff you gotta think about": Kevin Durant gives advice to AJ Dybantsa ahead of his college basketball career
AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, is heading to the BYU Cougars after an impressive showout at the McDonald's All-American Game. The 6-foot-9 forward finished a stellar high school career after playing at St. Sebastian in 2022, Prolific Prep in 2023 and Utah Prep in 2024.
Dybantsa was joined by Mr. Talk Spicy, Cha-Ching, and the 15-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant in a video titled "Kevin Durant Sits Down With AJ Dybantsa | NBA x Nike Air Time," by the NBA's YouTube channel. In the conversation, Durant gave some advice to Dybantsa as he gets set to start his collegiate career:
KD, who played for the Texas Longhorns in the 2006-07 season, was asked by Dybantsa about transitioning in the Big 12:
"I don't wanna say it was hard," Kevin Durant said, "but the style of play in college is a little faster than high schools, a little more structured. There's more stuff you gotta think about more than anything: game plans, how we are playing defense, the type of offense you wanna run."
"Just talking about the type of stuff you think about, that's the difference in levels, like the speed and the intellect of the game is different. You have the talent and the size to match anybody in that league or anybody in college, but it's about how fast you can catch on to what the other team is and how they're going to skim you too. It's just another level of intellect you gotta step into."
He also commended the coaching staff and how they help the players:
"You got a great coaching staff that know how to articulate so you'll be alright."
"Only so much I can do 1 on 1 with him," AJ Dybantsa talks about guarding Kevin Durant in a 1v1 situation
In the video, Mr. Talk Spicy gave Dybantsa credit for guarding the best player on the court. However, when asked how many points the 6-foot-9 forward would contain, Kevin Durant at.
AJ Dybantsa gave a smart answer, claiming that he would need help from his teammates:
"Yeah but you see I have a team, so I don't know. I am like okay, I'm going to have to.. there's only so much I can do one-on-one with him. So I got to force to get some help so it really depends. I'm really not going to answer. I don't know," said AJ Dybantsa. (Timestamp: 11:54)
Dybantsa, who led his team to a 105-92 win over the East team at McDAAG, will not be participating the Iverson Classic in May because of the dates clashing with his BYU enrollment.
Trending
