You know you are a special breed of player when even the rival coach admires your guts. Well, AJ Dybantsa has earned just that, as even his rival coach, Kelvin Sampson, praised him for a job well done after he single-handedly came close to spoiling the party for Houston with his 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. But that was not to be, as Houston survived AJ’s ferocity to secure their 21st win of the season, and Sampson was impressed with what he saw.

” But at some point, I knew that coach Young was going to stop and give the ball to Dybantsa. And it’s tough to guard that cause he scores his efficiency is. How many points did he score tonight? Yeah, and he only took 14 shots to get him. That’s high-level,” says Kelvin Sampson, knowing very well the level of player he was going up against.

Very few freshmen have captivated quite like Dybantsa. The small forward averages 24 ppg, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and a 54.0 FG% that clearly shows the control he has on the glass.  Despite that Dybantsa effect, BYU is still piling up losses, making their defeat against Houston the 4th in a row. Mind you, Dybantsa was the top scorer in three of those four games – Arizona 24 pts, Oklahoma State 36 pts, and now Houston.

Kelvin Sampson’s team looked helpless at best when they tried to find an answer to Dybantsa’s problem. Scoring 9-14 from the field, 3-4 from beyond the arc, and 7-12 from FT, Dybantsa could have very well taken his team to victory had not Kingston Flemings (19 pts), Chris Cenac Jr (16 pts), and Emanuel Sharp (14 pts) combined to take it away.

Knowing what Dybantsa brings to the table, why did the BYU coach, Kevin Young, risk subbing him in the later stages of the game is what baffled many.

Young’s Logic To Sub Off Dybantsa Refuted by The Player Himself

One of the most surprising moments of the game happened when BYU coach Kevin Young did the unthinkable. As 5:07 minutes remained on the clock, coach Young opted to put AJ Dybantsa on the bench.

Even ‘surprising’ would be an understatement to describe the situation, and shocking would justify the actions that led the coach to take that step. Well, according to Young, he had his reasons.

“He was about to pass out,” Young said afterward, further adding, “I think some of that rebounding was [adding to the] fatigue on his part. I knew the media [timeout] was getting ready to come, and so I thought we could steal another extra minute, or less than that, to be honest with you, because I was planning on calling a timeout and then just instead of him getting the full media getting an extra 30 seconds. That’s what went into that decision.”

Young may have his reasons, but was that prudent in that situation is the real question, especially when your team needs a desperate win after going through a dry patch. In their last 6 games, the Cougars have had just one win, yet you choose to rest out this year’s probable No. 1 draft pick, especially after AJ said he was good to continue.

“Nah, I was good. I probably think he thought I needed rest. He usually tries to take me out right before the media timeout, so I can get an extra minute. But, no, I was good. I don’t know why he said that,” said Dybantsa, highlighting a contrast in opinions.

So if that was the case, wouldn’t it have been better to play AJ when the rest of the Cougar roster went 12 of 39 from the field?

BYU has a deep roster, but the problem is there is just too much reliance on that one player, and that needs to change, cause, at the end of the day, it’s a team sport. Except for Robert Wright (17 pts), no one else could impose themselves on Kelvin Sampson’s team today, and that needs to change soon.