Nets Have All the More Reason to Lose After College Basketball's Opening Night

Brooklyn's focus is on setting itself up for a top draft pick in 2026. That was certainly fueled after college basketball's opening night, featuring top NBA prospects.

Nov 3, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) shoots a foul shot against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets are off to their worst start in 10 years after falling to 0-7 on the season. The growing pains of a rebuild are in full effect, and if you could measure how much they're embracing the process, the Nets are a 10 out of 10.

Brooklyn is attempting to develop the plethora of young talent on the roster, notably, its five first-round picks from the 2025 NBA Draft. Each rookie is promising in his own way, and it will interesting to see how (or if) each one improves in the future.

However, the one caveat is that the Nets made some questionable draft choices, not targeting a star scorer. With Cam Thomas's weaknesses and uncertain future, Brooklyn lacks a go-to franchise weapon on the offensive end. Egor Demin, Ben Saraf and Nolan Traore are more pass-first guards.

That leaves the Nets with no choice but to target a franchise player in 2026. With the way they're headed, and how hyped-up these prospects are, next year's draft could be 'the one' for Brooklyn. That was certainly reinforced after opening of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Monday saw a few top prospects make their college debuts, and no one disappointed. The top performance of the night came from Arizona's Koa Peat. The 18-year-old put up 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the No. 13 Wildcats defeated the reigning champion, No. 3 Florida Gators.

Following Arizona's matchup in the Hall of Fame Series, No. 8 BYU took on Villanova, which meant it was the long-awaited debut of AJ Dybantsa.

Dybantsa is highly regarded as a 6-foot-9 wing with unbelievable athleticism and three-level scoring. His frame, speed and vertical skills make him a two-way monster, and he certainly proved that against Villanova.

The freshman put up 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, shooting an efficient 9-for-18 from the field. Dybantsa displayed great slashing ability, which makes Nets fans all the more excited for the 2026 draft lottery.

Then, there was Darryn Peterson, who made his regular-season debut for Kansas against Green Bay. The 6-foot-5 combo guard was even more efficient and effective on both ends than Dybantsa, putting up 21 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Of course, it was against a lesser opponent, but Peterson lived up to the hype in game one.

Finally, Nate Ament, a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, showed that he could end up being one of the best power forwards in the nation for Tennessee. The Volunteers took down Mercer while the 6-foot-10 freshman had 18 points and nine rebounds.

There are so many other performances to highlight, but the point is that it gives Brooklyn all the more reason to get excited for June of 2026. Whether or not the Nets end up with the No. 1 pick, the losing is expected to pay off with the amount of talent next year's class has. They proved that on opening night.