AJ Dybantsa draws masses in Massachusetts homecoming at Hoophall Classic

The nation’s No. 1 recruit made his final appearance at the Hoophall Classic in his home state of Massachusetts.

AJ Dybantsa (3) plays against Montverde Academy (FL) in front of a sold out crowd at the 2025 Hoophall Classic. / Tarek Fattal

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — There are a lot of different ways to describe AJ Dybantsa in one sentence.

The No. 1 player in the country. The future NBA Lottery pick. Best basketball prospect since LeBron James. How about the $7 million man? After reports of his NIL deal with BYU hovering around that figure have surfaced.

But on Sunday night at the Hoophall Classic, he was just the hometown kid, so to speak.

The high school basketball phenom made a homecoming of sorts, returning back to his home state of Massachusetts in a somewhat fizzling 74-60 Utah Prep defeat to Montverde Academy in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

Dybantsa is from Brockton, Mass. a city south of Boston and roughly two hours from Springfield, Mass. where the Hoophall is hosted.

“It was nice to come back and play (in Massachusetts),” Dybantsa said. “I saw a good number of people (from Brockton) in the stands. It meant a lot.”

AJ Dybantsa dropped 25 points vs. Montverde at Hoophall Classic 🔥🔥

His Utah Prep squad would fall short, 74-60. pic.twitter.com/mW8mnPYyr4

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) January 20, 2025

The game wasn’t close — unfortunately for those in attendance and those watching on ESPN2 — but Dybantsa was impressive despite a poor shooting game. His size, length and athleticism combined with his smooth game around the perimeter at 6-foot-8 makes it obvious to see why he’s the country’s No. 1 prospect.

He finished with 25 points on 8 of 19 shooting with three 3-pointers.

Utah Prep was down 42-15 at halftime before cutting the Montverde Academy lead to just 64-54 with 2:20 left to play, but that was as close as it would get under newly appointed coach Keith Smart.

“He’s coached at the highest level. Coached USA, coached NBA, so he’s teaching us little by little,” Dybantsa said of Smart.

Dybantsa is on the fast track to the NBA. Like the No. 1 recruit before him — Cooper Flagg — Dybantsa reclassifed from the class of 2026 to 2025 after a freshman season at Saint Sebastian’s in Needham, Mass. where he averaged 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks and a season at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif..

Everywhere Dybantsa goes, he’s praised. When asked what he needs to work on:

“My shooting. I want to get to 40-plus percent so I can be a harder threat to guard if I can up it [shooting efficient],” Dybantsa said.

Mr. No. 1 in the country. AJ Dybantsa

Originally from Brockton, Mass., the final visit to @HoophallClassic is a homecoming.

Standing room only here in Blake Arena. pic.twitter.com/YRqdzgyBPb

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) January 19, 2025