Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- AJ Dybantsa led Utah Prep to a 65-49 victory over top-ranked Link Academy.
- Dybantsa scored 18 points, showcasing versatility and strengthening Utah Prep's reputation.
- Teammate JJ Mandaquit praised Dybantsa's character, highlighting their strong team dynamics.
PLEASANT GROVE — Like most people, AJ Dybantsa is a complicated human being, who also happens to be among the best basketball players in the country for his age group. But there's also a side of him that few get to see.
There's the side that most people know, the consensus No. 1 overall recruit who transferred to Utah Prep ahead of his senior year and has scholarship offers to play college basketball anywhere for the year he is expected to play in the NCAA.
Then there's the side that Utah Prep teammate JJ Mandaquit knows: a teammate, a friend, and someone who is kind of a jokester, "to say the least."
Sometimes that side comes out, too, like when the 6-foot-9 wing laughed and bounded as he exited the floor with his teammates following Utah Prep's 65-49 win Tuesday over top-ranked Link Academy at the third-annual 5 for the Fight Hoopfest at Pleasant Grove High.
"He's a joy to play with. He's an even bigger joy to be with and to spend time with off the court," Mandaquit told KSL.com after the win. "Obviously, everyone knows him as AJ the basketball player.
"Off the court, he's just a great person," he added. "He just wants to have fun, to goof around, tell jokes all the time. He's super energetic; you can tell by the way he plays. But he's a joy to be around."
Dybantsa scored a game-high 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 12 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in Utah Prep's win, one that the recently relocated prep school in Hurricane hopes sends a message.
That message? Utah Prep can be a great team — and not just because of its newly added versatile big who is already projecting as a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
"This is the second No. 1 team in the country that we've beat so far," said Mandaquit, just two weeks removed from signing with Washington. "Obviously, the rankings, they don't really matter much to us. But we pay attention to it, and I think No. 6 was a little disrespectful.
"Now they know."
Mandaquit will reunite in the Big Ten's Emerald City footprint with Danny Sprinkle, the former Utah State coach who is entering his first year at Washington.
But funny enough, the two didn't interact much in their shared history in the Beehive State, when Sprinkle was leading Utah State to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2001.
"Very little," Mandaquit said. "He reached out, of course, but I didn't talk to him until he got to U-dub. Almost right away, actually.
"(Washington assistant coach) Tony Bland, though, is like family to me. We've known him for years now and the whole staff has done a great job building a relationship with me and my family, as well."
It's a relief to cap off the recruitment for Mandaquit, who chuckled when ask if he was glad the constant phone calls, text messages and DMs were over and he could get ready to play ball in the Big Ten next year.
It's also a process that Dybantsa hopes to end soon.
Dybantsa told a small group of local Utah media that he hopes to have a solidified commitment by the end of December, an expedited timeline that he initially thought might take until February.
But after locking in on Alabama, BYU, Kansas State, Kansas and North Carolina as his top teams, Dybantsa said he feels plenty comfortable with his recruitment.
So what is most important for the Brockton, Massachusetts, native as he zeroes in on a final decision?
"They're all family-oriented schools, a good development program, winning organizations, and a great group of coaches," he said.
He also hopes to find a place where he can excel on the biggest stage before the NBA — something he's also doing with Utah Prep, from Section 7 to the Border League to Tuesday night's Hoopfest.
"That's what you want to do," Dybantsa said. "I mean, I play basketball. I wanted to play better competition. The best competition makes the best."
In addition to the four-star floor general and his currently uncommitted top prospect who has recently moved up his commitment plans to December, Utah Prep got a steady 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting form Anthony Felesi, the four-star Class of 2026 guard with offers from BYU, California, UNLV and Utah State.
Pick your poison, right? It's a point guard's dream, says Mandaquit.
"The guys we've got, everyone can do their own thing," he added. "But we play so well together. Everyone's unselfish, and everyone goes and gets theirs when the time calls for it."
Mandaquit makes it easy — and fun — too, Dybantsa added.
"He's an unselfish point guard, the best point guard in our class," Dybantsa said. "I mean, it makes my job way easier."
