Hoophall Classic Flagg and Dybantsa

[superjohn]

Flagg's Montverde wins a close one over Dybantsa's Prolific Prep. So much talent on the floor with Flagg, Dybantsa, McNeeley, Queen, Stokes, Zoom Diallo...

Flagg and Dybantsa are special. Flagg is the best all around player but Dybantsa has even more scoring ability than him.

It would be a shame if both these New England kids leave New England for their year of college.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Flagg's Montverde wins a close one over Dybantsa's Prolific Prep. So much talent on the floor with Flagg, Dybantsa, McNeeley, Queen, Stokes, Zoom Diallo...

Flagg and Dybantsa are special. Flagg is the best all around player but Dybantsa has even more scoring ability than him.

It would be a shame if both these New England kids leave New England for their year of college.

Hasn't that already been decided?

 

[HooperScooper]

Just posted from The Boston Globe.

Dybantsa and Flagg are friends off the court, but in this high-stakes matchup, there was no letting up.

“We don’t take the matchup too personally, but when you’re playing your friend, you’re playing your friend,” he said. “You’re gonna go at it.”

You couldn’t find a seat to watch Cooper Flagg vs. AJ Dybantsa at the Hoophall Classic. It lived up to the hype. - The Boston Globe

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was among the attendees for a historic display between two of the top prospects in the country.

www.bostonglobe.com

Alternate access:

You couldn’t find a seat to watch Cooper Flagg vs. AJ Dybantsa at the Hoophall Classic. It lived up to the hype.​

 

[HooperScooper]

 

[SportsFan88]

Dybantsa we really, really got a shot at keeping him in New England, comes from a great family who understands and sees the big picture, and what better program than us right now?

 

[HooperScooper]

Dybantsa we really, really got a shot at keeping him in New England, comes from a great family who understands and sees the big picture, and what better program than us right now?

He hasn't mentioned UConn at all in the last few months. So not sure what is going on between him and UConn.

 

[SportsFan88]

He hasn't mentioned UConn at all in the last few months. So not sure what is going on between him and UConn.

Oh ok ok yea cause the messenger and the athletic articles I read do go back to the EYBL summer sessions

 

[HooperScooper]

Sunday at the Hoophall Classic was a showcase of high school basketball being played at the highest level as Montverde (Fla.) Academy and Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep squared off in an elite contest that delivered in every way in an electric atmosphere.

Hoophall Classic: Loaded Montverde and Prolific Prep live up to the hype in instant classic

No. 1 Montverde and Top-10 Prolific Prep put on a show in an elite level game at the Hoophall Classic.

247sports.com

 

[DogMania]

I watched part of the game on one of the ESPN networks. Impressive talent on the floor and surprisingly well coached team for high school hoops.

I'm still disappointed that we didn't come away with a top recruiting class coming off a National Championship. We knew that getting Flagg was a tall order since Dook was his dream school. The one that hurt was missing out on that 5 who also chose Dook.

I'm sure Hurley will have success at landing what we need via the Portal. I can't imagine a talented 5 won't see a huge opportunity to join the program seeing a clear path to get solid PT. And with most if not all our top deep shooters moving on (AK is playing at an extremely high level), would we be surprised if we land one or two sharp shooters like we did with Cam Spencer?

 

[superjohn]

I watched part of the game on one of the ESPN networks. Impressive talent on the floor and surprisingly well coached team for high school hoops.

I'm still disappointed that we didn't come away with a top recruiting class coming off a National Championship. We knew that getting Flagg was a tall order since Dook was his dream school. The one that hurt was missing out on that 5 who also chose Dook.

I'm sure Hurley will have success at landing what we need via the Portal. I can't imagine a talented 5 won't see a huge opportunity to join the program seeing a clear path to get solid PT. And with most if not all our top deep shooters moving on (AK is playing at an extremely high level), would we be surprised if we land one or two sharp shooters like we did with Cam Spencer?

I read from a poster on the Duke board that the plan for Duke is to redshirt Ngongba. Who knows if that's true or not. He also had foot surgery, don't know what exactly and how long he's out.

I love what I've seen from Nowell but I'm pretty surprised we whiffed a bit on the high schoolers with this class and so many great players on the team leaving before next season. We easily have the best offense to play for in the country. I expect we'll crush it in the portal

 

[yungdowork]

I watched part of the game on one of the ESPN networks. Impressive talent on the floor and surprisingly well coached team for high school hoops.

I'm still disappointed that we didn't come away with a top recruiting class coming off a National Championship. We knew that getting Flagg was a tall order since Dook was his dream school. The one that hurt was missing out on that 5 who also chose Dook.

I'm sure Hurley will have success at landing what we need via the Portal. I can't imagine a talented 5 won't see a huge opportunity to join the program seeing a clear path to get solid PT. And with most if not all our top deep shooters moving on (AK is playing at an extremely high level), would we be surprised if we land one or two sharp shooters like we did with Cam Spencer?

Seems to me like this is the new formula with how many talented, experienced players are hitting the portal every summer. A freshman with the talent and poise that Cam Spencer already has would be a top 10 recruit, and the majority of those guys are gone after 1 year. There's definitely something to be said for constructing a roster with some elite recruits (Castle), some guys you can develop (Samson, Ball, the other freshmen), and high quality transfers (Newton, Spencer) that gives you flexibility and the ability to win now, while still allowing you to develop talent and the culture surrounding the program.

Schools like Kentucky and Duke have been having a pretty hard time retooling since they're losing so much talent to the NBA year after year. It's hard to have a balanced roster every year, it's hard to have time to institute a culture, etc.

 

[Chief00]

The recruiting classes after the last two NC’s we very much focused on a Top Big and lost out. The end result was disappointing. Maybe that’s a lesson learned?

 

[husky429]

There's definitely something to be Schools like Kentucky and Duke have been having a pretty hard time retooling since they're losing so much talent to the NBA year after year.

Are they? Reloading now is easier than ever, and UK/Duke/Kansas are getting every transfer they want because of NIL. Certainly nothing like the drop-off we saw at UConn during the Ollie- era... (73, 26, 96, 179 before Hurley came).

These are the final kenpom rating from 2014-2023 for the one-and-done factories:

Duke: 8, 3, 17, 14, 3, 4, 5, 36, 8, 18, 18

UK: 13, 1, 6, 4, 17, 8, 29, 49, 6, 27, 19

Kansas: 7, 12, 3, 6, 9, 17, 1, 27, 3, 9, 18

UNC: 29, 10, 2, 3, 8, 7, 83, 34, 16, 43, 5

It's hard for me to call that "a pretty hard time retooling" overall. UK has definitely had ups-and-downs, but that has as much to do with players going G-league or overseas as anything Cal has done.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I read from a poster on the Duke board that the plan for Duke is to redshirt Ngongba. Who knows if that's true or not. He also had foot surgery, don't know what exactly and how long he's out.

I love what I've seen from Nowell but I'm pretty surprised we whiffed a bit on the high schoolers with this class and so many great players on the team leaving before next season. We easily have the best offense to play for in the country. I expect we'll crush it in the portal

I hope so as winning the national championship has not really led to an overall improvement in recruiting. I get that most of these 5* go to schools because of the package not the just NIL but coaching jobs for family members etc. But even Baylor is out recruiting us. Sometimes brutal honesty has it drawbacks when you are trying to sell. But as long as we continue to get guys who fit the culture Danny will be competitive with the teams he puts together.

 

[yungdowork]

Are they? Reloading now is easier than ever, and UK/Duke/Kansas are getting every transfer they want because of NIL. Certainly nothing like the drop-off we saw at UConn during the Ollie- era... (73, 26, 96, 179 before Hurley came).

These are the final kenpom rating from 2014-2023 for the one-and-done factories:

Duke: 8, 3, 17, 14, 3, 4, 5, 36, 8, 18, 18

UK: 13, 1, 6, 4, 17, 8, 29, 49, 6, 27, 19

Kansas: 7, 12, 3, 6, 9, 17, 1, 27, 3, 9, 18

UNC: 29, 10, 2, 3, 8, 7, 83, 34, 16, 43, 5

It's hard for me to call that "a pretty hard time retooling" overall. UK has definitely had ups-and-downs, but that has as much to do with players going G-league or overseas as anything Cal has done.

Depends on your perspective I guess. I don't think the programs are struggling or anything, but I think do think there's a new landscape in college basketball that has presented new challenges. For the one-and-done factories, they have so much production to replace every year. Certainly these teams are retooling in terms of adding skilled players, but it's pretty hard to replace all of the talent, experience, leadership, etc all at once. We've been VERY lucky at our transition from last season to this season in that regard, at least in my opinion.

Focusing on Duke, Filipowski could have got drafted if he didn't come back, but even so they'll be losing him, Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and probably McCain to the NBA in the off-season. Roach and Ryan Young are graduating I believe (I'm not sure about Covid eligibility). That leaves Caleb Foster and Jaylen Blakes as the only guys returning that play 10+ minutes. Even adding 3 5-stars and 2 4-stars, the coaching staff has a lot to do to get that team ready for the gauntlet that is college basketball.

Somebody aside from UNC or Duke winning the regular season championship 3 of the last 4 years is definitely exceptional for that conference. Not unheard of, especially with some of Virginia's runs in the last 10-15 years, but not the norm. Maybe we can chalk that up to the coaching changes and I'm overthinking it. It just seems to me like blending the one-and-dones, the high-profile transfers, the 4-stars you can develop, along with all of the normal roster management is as hard as it's ever been.

 

[Matrim55]

Maybe we can chalk that up to the coaching changes and I'm overthinking it. It just seems to me like blending the one-and-dones, the high-profile transfers, the 4-stars you can develop, along with all of the normal roster management is as hard as it's ever been.

More than ever before, college coaches have to think like GMs. Self realized this a few years ago, but I agree with you that it feels like UK, Duke and UNC are playing catch-up.

Or it could be that Self is an excellent in-game coach and the three guys at those other places really aren't.

 

[UConnJim]

In today's college basketball, being a member of the recruiting Final Four has little to do with being a member of the actual Final Four. Who was the last top recruit that lead their team to the NCAA Championship? Was it Anthony Davis in 2012? The portal has changed everything.

 

[yungdowork]

More than ever before, college coaches have to think like GMs. Self realized this a few years ago, but I agree with you that it feels like UK, Duke and UNC are playing catch-up.

Or it could be that Self is an excellent in-game coach and the three guys at those other places really aren't.

I originally put a little shoutout to Self in my original post but thought it was getting a little too long lmao. I do think Self caught on a little quicker. Landing Kevin McCullar as a transfer 2 years ago has ended up being a huge gamechanger. It's obvious how Dickinson is impacting their team this year. If Timberlake was playing a little closer to the way he was advertised, that team would be a whole lot scarier too, because one of their biggest weaknesses is lack of scoring outside of their first 3 options.

UNC has also played the portal pretty aggressively and I think you can see how it's benefitting them this year

 

[HooperScooper]

I don't think Dybantsa ever plays college basketball. Just a hunch.

The No. 1 ranked male prospect in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa, and the No. 1 player female prospect in the 2026 class, Jerzy Robinson, both etched NIL shoe deals with Nike, per Boardroom Sports.

“Joining the Nike basketball family is huge,” Dybantsa said to Boardroom Sports. “When I was asked, it was a no-brainer… Growing up, watching people that inspired me wear Nike — to now being part of the same team is an opportunity I don’t take for granted. I can’t wait to see what we can mix up on and off the court.”

Nike signs No. 1 high school prospects AJ Dybantsa, Jerzy Robinson to NIL shoe deals | Zagsblog

By SAM LANCE The No. 1 ranked […]

www.zagsblog.com

 

[MrP]

Dybantsa is originally from the city where I teach high school history. Shame there was never a chance he’d play for his hometown high school (we could use the good publicity, trust me)

 

[MDHuskFan]

This will knock out Auburn & Kansas, as well as a few others im sure

 

[UCTitleTown]

I hope so as winning the national championship has not really led to an overall improvement in recruiting. I get that most of these 5* go to schools because of the package not the just NIL but coaching jobs for family members etc. But even Baylor is out recruiting us. Sometimes brutal honesty has it drawbacks when you are trying to sell. But as long as we continue to get guys who fit the culture Danny will be competitive with the teams he puts together.

We've never cleaned up in recruiting after any of our titles. I've never understood that.

 

[Matrim55]

I don't think Dybantsa ever plays college basketball. Just a hunch.

The No. 1 ranked male prospect in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa, and the No. 1 player female prospect in the 2026 class, Jerzy Robinson, both etched NIL shoe deals with Nike, per Boardroom Sports.

“Joining the Nike basketball family is huge,” Dybantsa said to Boardroom Sports. “When I was asked, it was a no-brainer… Growing up, watching people that inspired me wear Nike — to now being part of the same team is an opportunity I don’t take for granted. I can’t wait to see what we can mix up on and off the court.”

Nike signs No. 1 high school prospects AJ Dybantsa, Jerzy Robinson to NIL shoe deals | Zagsblog

By SAM LANCE The No. 1 ranked […]

www.zagsblog.com

I think this deal makes it more likely he plays a year of college, obviously with a Nike school. Lots of NIL money to be made, way more than G-League.

 

[tykurez]

This will knock out Auburn & Kansas, as well as a few others im sure

Get them both to UConn!

 

[HooperScooper]

I think this deal makes it more likely he plays a year of college, obviously with a Nike school. Lots of NIL money to be made, way more than G-League.

The NIL money for a year will be inconsequential. On3 estimates his NIL value at $336,00. So it just depends whether he wants to be in college for a year or not.