Utah Prep wins ‘Iolani Classic, AJ Dybantsa named tournament MVP
After bulldozing its way through the first half of the 2024 ‘Iolani Classic in Honolulu, Utah Prep faced off against a gritty Brewster Academy (N.H.) team in the championship on Saturday night.
Offense was a struggle at times for both teams, but Utah was able to pull out a 45-43 victory to take home gold at the illustrious event. To no surprise, No. 1 overall prospect and BYU signee AJ Dybantsa was the catalyst for the Athletes this week in the Aloha State.
Dybantsa earned MVP honors at the event after putting on a show in each of Utah Prep’s four wins.
Brewster entered the week as the No. 21 team in the nation, according to the On3 Composite Rankings. Utah Prep actually checked in behind at No. 23, though it will make a jump up after an impressive showing at the ‘Iolani.
Utah Prep has already played a rigorous schedule to this point and has top-30 wins over Link Academy (Mo.), Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and now Brewster. This week also saw Dybantsa and Co. defeat Kahuku (Hi.) and ‘Iolani (Hi.).
The On3 Composite High School Basketball Team Ranking is a proprietary algorithm that compiles rankings listed in the public domain by respected High School media and data companies. It includes Massey, Max Preps, ESPN and SI, creating the industry’s most comprehensive and geographically balanced High School Team Ranking.
Dybantsa throws down highlight reel dunk
The BYU faithful eagerly awaits the arrival of Dybantsa in Provo next season. The consensus top-ranked prospect in high school basketball regardless of class, Dybantsa threw down perhaps his No. 1 highlight on Friday against Oak Hill.
On a breakaway, the 6-foot-9, 200-pounder elevated and went under both legs before rocking the rim and stunning the crowd:
Dybantsa committed and signed with BYU on Dec. 10, ending a long recruitment that also saw Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas emerge as finalists. He’s since made his first appearance at the Marriot Center in Provo, his future home court at the college level.
“It was fun, everybody supporting me, like it said ‘welcome home,’ I mean it’s going to be my next home, everybody’s got to be a family, I like how it was just a family atmosphere,” Dybansta told BYU Sports Nation after he was introduced.
The former No. 1 player in the 2026 class, Dybantsa reclassified up to the 2025 cycle — his original class — in October of 2023. He took a slew of visits throughout his process, but the Cougars were always a factor. He took his official visit to Provo this October and is now the highest-ranked prospect to ever sign with the new Big 12 program.
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