Carmelo Anthony’s phenomenal 2003 season at Syracuse University remains unparalleled in the annals of freshman achievements in college basketball. With a formidable team backing him, Anthony ascended to greatness, securing the school’s singular national championship title.

Throughout the years, many freshmen have flirted with the possibility of matching Anthony’s legendary success. Notable names like Kevin Durant at Texas, Zion Williamson and Cooper Flagg at Duke, and Karl-Anthony Towns at Kentucky have come close, yet none have fully captured the magic that Anthony did.

Enter AJ Dybantsa, a promising talent hailing from Brockton, Massachusetts. Standing at an impressive 6-foot-9, Dybantsa is considered one of the most coveted recruits in recent years. If he decides to enter the NBA Draft come April, he is widely tipped to be the top pick.

This weekend, Dybantsa returned to his roots, playing at Boston’s TD Garden to showcase his skills in front of NBA scouts. Despite a stellar performance, scoring 25 points, his team, the No. 7 ranked Cougars, fell short. They mounted a late comeback but ultimately succumbed to No. 3 UConn with a narrow 84-82 defeat.

While his 25 points proved he has the capabilities to play well at this level, the No. 7 Cougars left their comeback too late as they lost 84-82 to No. 3 UConn. 

BYU freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa returned to Boston to put on a show for his home town

Despite leading all scorers, the Massachusetts native could not lead BYU to victory over UConn

Almost instantly after his freshman year of high school ball, Dybantsa was named the top recruit in his class.

Offers came flooding in. Elite basketball schools like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and more attempted to bring him into their ranks.

Instead, he announced on First Take that he would be going to the mountains of Provo, Utah to make a name for himself at BYU. 

Rather than join one of the more accomplished institutions going after his signature, he chose the Cougars – a team that hasn’t gone further than the Sweet 16 in the last 40 years.

‘Nobody bothers me,’ Dybantsa told Yahoo Sports. ‘I’m in Utah. Nobody knows where that’s at. But that’s like, they don’t have no idea who I am. They just ask me if I play basketball.’

Dybantsa, for what it’s worth, made a smart choice. He didn’t take the route of Ben Simmons – who chose LSU and could not succeed there.

Instead, he’s playing alongside quality talent. Guard Richie Saunders and forwards Keba Keita and Mihailo Boskovic played well under first-year coach Kevin Young last season.

So, naturally, with Dybantsa coming in, BYU received plenty of preseason hype as a potential national title contender.

Listed at 6-foot-9, Dybantsa was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country

Dybantsa chose BYU over traditional basketball powerhouses like Kansas and North Carolina

Except, the reality hasn’t quite matched those expectations. BYU is undefeated, yes, but has shown weakness at times.

So, the prospect of playing a top-three UConn team that won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024 promised to be the toughest test of Dybantsa’s career.

It was. At least, at first it was.

Dybantsa opened the game shooting 1-for-6 as the Cougars could not put the ball in the net from deep. 

The jeering was loud. After he missed a left-corner three well-long with 6:45 remaining, the majority UConn crowd began chanting ‘o-ver-ra-ted’ as he shrugged his shoulders and kept playing.

He didn’t hit his second shot from the field until six minutes into the second half. By then, the Cougars were down 17 and in need of a run. Dybantsa’s first 3-pointer came immediately after, with the star fixing to try and bring BYU back in the game by himself. 

Dybantsa seriously struggled in the first half – hitting only one of his six shot attempts

UConn transfer guard Silas Demary Jr (2) was one of three Huskies with 21 points

At first, the Huskies managed to keep their distance. In addition to Alex Karaban – who himself was having a homecoming as a native of Southboro, Massachusetts –  Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr and big man Tarris Reed ended the night with 21 points.

But UConn got into foul trouble and put BYU in the double-bonus with over seven minutes remaining. 

The Cougars began trapping the Huskies and forced errors – all while hitting seven straight shots to cut the deficit to five.

Back and forth down the stretch came both teams. A clutch triple from senior Dawson Baker cut the game to 84-82 UConn with 20 seconds to go. 

After Dayton transfer Malachi Smith missed his first free throw, he sank a second to make it a three-point game.

Dybantsa was much stronger in the second half – hitting 7-of-8 and scoring 21 points

Up the court came the Cougars. Baylor transfer Robert Wright III drove left and had the ball poked free by Demary and stolen by UConn guard Solo Ball. He sank one of two free throws to put the game out of reach.

After the game, UConn coach Dan Hurley praised Dybantsa’s resilience and growth – as the freshman hit 7-of-8 shots for 21 points in the second half. Hurley said, ‘His first half was a mess. For him to be able to put that behind him back home and put on that second half performance on was as good as you’ll see from a freshman.’

Dybantsa had more learning to do himself. With a tough conference slate ahead of him in some of the country’s most hostile arenas, the freshman will have more to adjust to than in his first tough game.

When asked by Daily Mail Sport what he may have learned from this heated affair, Dybantsa said, ‘I mean, just don’t let it get to you… just try not to let that affect you and use that as motivation.’