North Carolina weirdly pitched AJ Dybantsa on Duke's success during failed recruitment
AJ Dybantsa decided to play college basketball at BYU, but before that, he considered various other schools including North Carolina.
Picture this scenario that Dybantsa experienced: You are the top basketball recruit in the nation and while meeting with the program, the university opts to weirdly invoke the success of their biggest rival as a reason to attend their school.
That is somehow exactly what happened for Dybantsa when he met with UNC, according to a recent profile by Matt Norlander. It makes no sense, but alas, here is what Dybantsa was reportedly told (via CBS Sports):
“North Carolina pitched him a vision of being the next all-time scoring superstar to wear Tar Heel Blue, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and Jerry Stackhouse. They referenced how Zion Williamson’s net worth skyrocketed by choosing to play at Duke instead of Clemson, laying out what one season at a blue blood did for his career in advance of being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, including a shoe deal worth upward of $50 million before ever playing an NBA game.”
That was an absolutely absurd decision, and Duke seemed to troll UNC afterward by posting a GIF of Williamson:
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) December 11, 2024
After hearing this pitch, and the whopping NIL deal, it isn’t exactly as much a surprise that the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft decided BYU as a better fit than UNC.
Whoever mentioned Williamson should probably reconsider that for future meetings with recruits.