Regardless of what happens in the NCAA Tournament, AJ Dybantsa will be revered at BYU forever

BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, right, calls out to guard Robert Wright III as he takes a shot during a practice the day before a first-round NCAA Tournament game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News PORTLAND, Ore. — There will be some who say that what AJ Dybantsa does in the next few days, or weeks, in the NCAA Tournament for the BYU basketball team will determine whether the freshman superstar is remembered fondly in Provo forever or viewed as a bust, a well-compensated athlete in this NIL generation who could not take the Cougars to the promised land — the Final Four.

That kind of sentiment would be utterly misguided. The teenager from Brockton, Massachusetts, has already put BYU on the college basketball map , endeared himself to millions worldwide, and cemented his legacy as a generational talent who bucked the odds and picked a non-blue blood program in the college basketball landscape. Then he carried BYU to unprecedented heights in terms of its national standing and image — feats that may never be duplicated along the Wasatch Front ever again.

Another big opportunity for Dybantsa to add to his legacy will arrive in primetime in the East — that tipoff timing is no accident — when the 23-11 Cougars square off against the SEC’s Texas (19-14) in an NCAA Tournament first-round game Thursday night (5:25 MDT, TBS) at Moda Center. No matter how long BYU’s run in March Madness lasts, the memorable moment will be just one of many that have occurred since Dybantsa explained in December of 2024 to ESPN’s bombastic and flummoxed Stephen A. Smith why he was going to relatively off-the-radar BYU instead of the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky or Kansas.

“Who said I can’t play (against) Duke at BYU? ” Dybantsa retorted, winning the hearts and minds of BYU fans with one well-placed comeback. BYU and Dybantsa will not get a shot at Duke unless both the No.