AJ Dybantsa pens thank you message to BYU — on LinkedIn

Dybantsa then thanked BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young and his teammates.

“Coach Young, thank you for trusting me with the keys to your program. You came to BYU with an NBA mind and a deep belief in what this place could become. You pushed me harder than I’ve ever been pushed, and you cared about me as a person before you cared about me as a player. I’ll carry the lessons you taught me for the rest of my life,” he said.

“To my teammates, the bond we built this year goes way beyond basketball. The film sessions, the bus rides, the late nights in the gym, the conversations that had nothing to do with the game. Y’all are brothers for life. I’m rooting for every single one of you.”

Dybantsa praised BYU fans, writing “what y’all do for this program is special.”

“The way fans show up for BYU basketball is unlike anything in the country. The kindness I felt walking around campus and the city of Provo, the families who treated me like one of their own, the kids who came up to me everywhere I went. That’s the part of this experience I’ll remember most,” he said.

The NBA now awaits Dybantsa, the likely No. 1 overall pick, but regardless of where he ends up, he said he is “proud to be a Cougar for life.”

“I am proud to have worn the Y. I’m proud to have represented this university. I’m proud to be a Cougar for life. The next chapter starts now, but BYU will always be a part of who I am. Go Cougs.”

AJ Dybantsa, the nation's No. 1 basketball recruit, is presented at halftime of the BYU and Fresno State game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News