By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — AJ Dybantsa, the top prospect in the 2025 class, had a busy Friday.
First, it started with Dybantsa announcing he’s moving high schools, as the 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward is transferring from Prolific Prep to Utah Prep. It ended with Dybantsa knocking down a game-winning 3-pointer to give his Oakland Soldiers an 60-57 win over Arizona Unity.
“I had 1.9 seconds left so I just let it go, trusted my shot,” Dybantsa told ZAGSBLOG.com postgame.
AJ Dybantsa hits a turnaround 3 from top of the key to win it at buzzer for Oakland Soldiers 60-57
@ADybantsa pic.twitter.com/uznpc4nkGH
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After the game, ZAGSBLOG.com caught up with Dybantsa’s father, “Ace” Dybantsa, to discuss the move from Prolific Prep to Utah Prep. Ace said last year when Dybantsa went to Prolific, they wanted them to sign for two years.
“I was like, ‘nah, it’s one year and we’ll see what happens,’” Ace said. “So the year came up, we fulfilled our commitment. Time to go.”
Ace spoke often with coach Justin Yamzon and the people in charge of the Utah Prep program before making the decision.
“They came up with a good plan,” Ace said. “So we decided to go to Utah, give it a shot.”
Ace said he loves coach Yamzon and that he’s a great coach. He also said Utah Prep has great assistant coaches.
“I’m not concerned,” Ace said. “AJ is going to be all right.”
The weather in Utah is what Ace is looking forward to most, as he loves to golf. Ace said the move from Prolific Prep to Utah Prep doesn’t affect AJ’s recruitment “at all.”
As for AJ Dybantsa, Utah Prep simply had everything to offer.
“My goal is just to develop into the best player I can be,” Dybantsa said. “I just trusted my dad with the whole process because he was really handling the process while I was still in school, still playing. He handled all that and I just trusted him. I trusted him with Prolific. I trusted him with the Oakland Soldiers. I trust him with everything.”
Dybantsa averaged 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists for Prolific Prep last season. He’s looking to bring the same kind of spark to Utah Prep.
“I’m ready for a new chapter,” Dybantsa said. “It’s always great to experience something new.”
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