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Jalen Rose reacts to AJ Dybantsa comments about NBA Draft, potential BYU return

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz5 hours agoNickSchultz_7

Considered one of the top prospects in this year’s NBA Draft, AJ Dybantsa raised eyebrows when he indicated he could stay at BYU because his mom wants him to graduate. TNT Sports’ Jalen Rose reacted to those remarks Saturday and shed some light on the situation.

Rose told the panel he thinks Dybantsa should declare for the draft instead of run it back at BYU for another year. The former Five Star Plus+ recruit is considered the No. 1-ranked player on the board, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw III’s latest Big Board, and ESPN projected him to go No. 2 overall in its most recent mock draft.

But Rose said he got to know Dybantsa’s family and he’d be one of the only projected top picks to instead return to school. Still, he called for the BYU star to go to the NBA instead of returning for Year 2.

“Here’s the thing. Once you get to know him and see his family dynamic, if there is a freshman that can go No. 1 and still come back, it actually would be him,” Rose said. “But I just don’t think that’s the best thing for him to do and for his career. But if somebody, based on his situation, was going to come back, I think it would be him.”

Dybansta has lived up to the billing after arriving at BYU as the top recruit in the country. He’s averaging 24.8 points this year to lead the Cougars while adding 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals on average. He’s also shooting 53% from the field and 36.3% from three-point territory heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against Texas Tech.

But while speaking with Deseret News earlier this week, AJ Dybantsa said he has “just got to get to the end of the season” and still might wind up leaving for the draft. Of course, he expects the “one more year” chants to ring down as BYU goes through its final regular-season games. But he added he’ll have to talk with his mother.

“No, because my mom wants me to graduate,” Dybantsa said when asked whether he made up his mind about declaring for the draft. “So I might not leave. But I might leave. I don’t know.

“The fans might get into my head and talk about one more year, maybe three more years. I don’t know. But I’m going to have to talk to my mom.”