Multiple sources are reporting that AJ Dybansta is receiving $5M from BYU to sign.
Mr. Dybansta, you are a very rich college student.
BYU has huge NIIL resources. The whole Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is their backer.
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Danny Ainge, the Utah Jazz owner & that network of people are their backers
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Danny Ainge does not own the Utah Jazz but he is the CEO and alternate governor of the team:
- Ownership
Ryan Smith owns the Utah Jazz through his company, Smith Entertainment Group (SEG).
@BIgCatonProwl my poor grammar.
Yes, Ryan Smith was the man i was referring to.
I heard he was a big reason why Kevin Young, NBA assistant, took the BYU job. Cause they’d have the NIL backing to get players for Coach Young
He’s actually receiving “close to $7MM”.
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https://x.com/n8buss/status/1869938994156351818?s=46&t=olbhmK8XlLz2WbEIq2auEQ
Cenac making it look easy
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Chris Cenac
Yesterday, while on holiday and bored, I watched full games of all four of our recruits. Here’s the summary: nasty defensive potential.
Harwell
- I knew Harwell was a good defensive player, but I didn’t realize how good. He has incredible lateral quickness for someone who is 6’6".
- For context, he’s a similar size to Arceneaux, but Arceneaux came into college primarily defending bigs in high school, so there was an adjustment period.
- Harwell, on the other hand, is half-court pressing point guards and causing crazy turnovers at 6’6". Sampson is going to love him.
- Note: He’s still on a minutes restriction due to his injury.
Cenac
- Hot take: Cenac plays the 4 for us, not the 5. I watched his game this week against Long Island Lutheran. Interestingly, one of the announcers (Fanta) speculated that Cenac has grown taller—take that with a grain of salt.
- The physicality for the 5 isn’t quite there yet; he does get pushed around at times. However, his lateral quickness and agility for his size are scary.
- At the 5, he’s still a work-in-progress defender. But if you move him to the 4, which requires less physicality, he instantly becomes an elite defender. His skill set aligns more with that of a big wing anyway.
- JoJo starts at the 5 and if goes pro, I think we bring in a true center, not a power forward—unless it’s Peat.
Flemings
- I noticed something interesting: Flemings does the jump ball for his team.
- I watched his game against DeMatha, a notable but not elite private school with a roster of mid-major D1 prospects. It was a good test to see how he fares against college-level opponents.
- He’s freakishly athletic and long, with good handles. He handled pressure well and even had a nasty crossover that led to a dunk.
- However, the game did feel like a “public vs. private school” matchup in terms of talent disparity.
Jackson
- I came in expecting a skinny, 6’6" catch-and-shoot player—maybe a bit clumsy—but I left impressed.
- He’s bigger than I expected (or he’s bulked up) and definitely not clumsy. He’s playable as a freshman.
- Any team we had before the last three years would have given him significant playing time as a freshman. For comparison, Sasser was a 3-star recruit, and I hopped on the bandwagon early, predicting he’d have a Year 1 impact—despite some disagreements at the time. On weaker depth id have called the same thing
- Jackson Skillset translates to year 1 impact, operates mainly as a shooter (6’6" shooter, no less), but he’s better off the bounce than I gave him credit for and a good passer. He scored 31 points in his last game (not the one I watched).
Overall Take
- Calling it now: the offensive scoring capabilities of these recruits will be wildly overestimated. People see “5-star” and immediately expect a high-volume scorer. It’s already happening in game threads, where folks suggest that certain recruits are “needed” to fix offensive struggles. then will only to insult them when they don’t score at will upon arrival. (Like was done with grimes and deeky, who were judge based on their expectations year 1)
- None of our recruits are 5-stars for high volume scoring. Cenac, for instance, does some crazy things offensively for a big (like off-the-dribble step-back 3s), but in the context of a full game, he doesn’t do it often. He’s never averaged more than 15 PPG, even in public high school.
There’s a potential defensive lineup that we could have Next YEAR (though I know JoJo, Terrance, and Milos will have pro decisions to make):
- 6’4" Milos – A good defender as is who will be great with one year under the system.
- 6’6" Terrance – Already a great defender.
- 6’5" Harwell – Great defender with incredible lateral quickness.
- 6’8" JoJo – A generational defender.
- 6’11" Cenac – A great defender with elite lateral quickness for his size.
Roational pieces:
- 6’3" Flemings – A great defender with a super long wingspan.
- 6’6" McCarthy – Another great defender.
- 6’11" McFarland – A great shot blocker.
- 6’6" Bryce Jackson – Solid defensive potential and growing.
Everyone listed has elite defensive potential with size. Add in Sharp, who is an above-average defender, and Mercy, who should be fully acclimated by then, and we’re looking at one of the most defensively stacked teams imaginable.
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When I saw Jojo chase down a guard and take the ball from him at half court and also tipping in his own miss I had flashbacks to Bo Outlaw. They are very similar with the biggest difference is we saw Bo at years 3 & 4.
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I really doubt TA comes back next year, if JoJo continues his upward trend he is likely gone also, but with NIL u never know for certain anymore
By the end of the season, they may BOTH be starters and our best players.
Thanks for the breakdown. Good read.
Has there been a player who turns down the NBA for nil? I think not. Just players that weren’t going anywhere in the NBA returning
There have been several bigs in recent years that could’ve gotten drafted that came back and played their senior years.
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The the big boy at Kansas that has no NBA future.