New Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has, in his short time in Lexington, already changed up the program’s approach from the way that previous coach John Calipari operated. But one thing he won’t be changing is the Wildcats’ desire to bring in forward AJ Dybantsa of Prolific Prep in California, the top-rated player in the Class of 2025 and the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
Dybantsa is a hot commodity heading into his senior season, and has received offers from a wide range of top programs. Alabama, Michigan, Connecticut, Baylor and Duke are among offers he’s received, but he seems especially interested in the three schools involved in the Calipari transfer—Kentucky, Arkansas (where Calipari landed) and USC (where former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is).
He said last week from the EYBL in Indianapolis (via ZagsBlog.com) that he plans to visit all three, plus Oregon and one or two others.
Dybantsa said UK is working mostly through his father: “Mark Pope was here. Two days ago, he called my dad, and I hopped on the phone with him. He said he’s going to keep the same Kentucky, be a top-25 team and that he thinks I’m a good fit.”
Kentucky Basketball ‘Re-Offered’ Scholarship
More than that, Dybantsa was asked directly about whether Pope and Kentucky had offered him a scholarship. He told KSR: “When we hopped on the call, I received the offer. … I had (John) Calipari first, and now, I’ve been re-offered by Pope.”
Dybantsa is already 6-foot-9 and 200 pounds, and just turned 17 in January. He is a fluid athlete and an excellent ballhandler, a guy NBA scouts are already watching closely. Most consider him a future star in the league, and while it is likely he will be the No. 1 pick in two years, he will have competition from Cameron Boozer, son of NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer.
Cameron’s twin brother Cayden Boozer will come, too, as a sort of twin package. Kentucky is recruiting them, though there is a presumption that they will go to Duke, where their father starred.
Boozer has averaged 24.4 points in the first 10 games of EYBL, most in the tournament. Dybantsa has averaged 23.3, which ranks third.
AJ Dybantsa a ‘Generational Talent’
Landing Dybantsa, who reclassified to the Class of 2025, would be a big-time feather in the cap of Pope, who is a quality coach and has done well cobbling together a Kentucky basketball roster on the fly in the wake of Calipari’s departure. But Pope needs to show he can reel in big fish. For collegiate recruiting, Dybantsa is the biggest fish out there.
KSR’s Jack Pilgrim wrote of Dybantsa: “At 6-9, 200 pounds, he’s long and wiry, yet slithery and smooth, carrying himself like a guard with the body of a four. A guy his size shouldn’t move like that, certainly not while making the shots and plays and defensive stops he does. In an era where ‘generational talent’ gets thrown around too loosely, he’s truly a generational talent.”
At NBA Draft Room, Dybantsa is the top pick in 2026 over Cameron Boozer. The site wrote: “After re-classifying to join the 2025 recruiting class Dybantsa will now be in a battle with Cameron Boozer for the top spot in the 2026 draft. He’s an elite scoring wing who looks like a future superstar at the NBA level.”
