News Bits
Fom Myron Medcalf's ESPN article "How AJ Dybantsa decided to become BYU's first No. 1 recruit":
"...Sure enough, when AJ Dybantsa arrived, Coach Kevin Young sold him on the ways BYU modeled itself after an NBA team—with real NBA professionals.
The players on this team have meal plans designed by Danielle LaFata, who was previously the director of performance nutrition for the Suns and Phoenix Mercury. Young has also assembled one of the largest staffs in college basketball. After every practice, a multitude of staffers—there are 16 student managers and six graduate assistants—crunch numbers and look at film on computers stacked on a long table near Young's office, with the goal of taking this program to a place it has never been.
That meticulous approach appealed to Dybantsa, who wanted the perspective that Young's love for analytics has produced. When Dybantsa missed a 3-pointer at a September practice, Akash Sebastian, BYU's director of analytics and strategy, knew which point on the rim the ball had clanked, the trajectory of the shot as it left Dybantsa's hands and his exact location on the court when he released it...
...That's why Sebastian was arguably Young's secret weapon in the recruitment of Dybantsa, who wanted his stint in college to resemble a year with an NBA team. Sebastian used to sleep through his classes in India during his childhood after he would stay up all night to watch NBA games in the United States. Later, his love for analytics helped him land a job with the Suns, where he met Young.
Today, he puts sensors on every Cougars player in practice, and with the help of a smart ball and shot-detecting technology, he tracks every field goal attempt down to the degree from which the ball comes off a player's fingertips—something the NBA is testing but is already standardized at BYU...
...After practices, Sebastian gathers all of the information he has compiled and sends it to Dybantsa and other players.
"How often are our guys shooting? How often are they passing? How often are they driving? How often are they doing nothing? Which is what you really don't want them to do," Sebastian said. "You want them to maintain the advantage that they've created, so we're all over all of that stuff and we track it all..."
So Dybantsa will never know the joy of surviving on a Top Ramen or five during a college dinner (sorry to dredge up those awful culinary memories).
The depths of those analytics are amazing and a player can't argue against them, at least not credibly. Credit to Coach Young.
........................................
Keegan Ladines: "Incredibly bless to announce my commitment to EarlhamBBall."
Ladines is a 5-foot-11 point attending Granite Bay High. Earlham College is located in Richmond, Indiana.
........................................
The freshman guard is carrying Stanford right now.
........................................
"College basketball player rankings: Tyler Hansborough tops Sporting News' top 25 of the 2000s"
It seems weird that the top college player of late had no impact in the NBA.
........................................
"Raptors recall Jonathan Mogbo from G League assignment"
The 6-foot-7 Mogbo is out of USF and an NBA sophomore.
........................................
Delly Mouthgard: "Mikey (Prolific Prep) Lewis checking in at http://evanmiya.com as the 7th best player in the country and the third highest offensive rating among the top 10. He’s played 27 minutes a game and taking 12 shots a night. Some huge numbers are coming."
The 6-foot-2 sophomore is averaging 22.0 points per game in 27 minutes an outing while shooting 53%, 58% and 21-21 at the foul line.
........................................
........................................
"Gary Stewart Named UC Merced Head Men's Basketball Coach"
........................................
"Cal State Dominguez Hills voted favorites in the 2025-26 CCAA Men's Basketball Preseason Poll"
Chico State was voted to finish in fourth, Cal State East Bay sixth, Stanislaus State seventh, Cal Poly Humboldt eighth, Cal State Monterey Bay tenth, San Francisco State 11th and UC Merced 12th.
........................................
Dinos Trigonis: "JC block of the year by 6-9 frosh Kenyon DeMunyck (City College of San Francisco) vs San Bernardino Valley in title game of Alvin Hunter Classic tonite. Kenyon had 21 pts/10 rebs/2 blks/2 stls & countless altered shots en route to tourney MVP honors."
Click here for the highlight video. It looks like the ball never left the hands of the shooter. DeMunyck is going to need more muscle to perform consistently inside the paint against good teams at the next level but he's certainly fun to watch.
........................................
From Basket Under Review: "Herb Sendek found another one in Bukky Oboye
The Santa Clara Broncos are now 5-0 on the season and have climbed from 105 to 71 in KenPom since the season started and rank 31st in Torvik when you remove preseason bias. The Broncos find themselves skyrocketing up analytics, thanks in large part to the talented wings mentioned in last week’s round-up and the impact from the guard and center positions.
We’ll no doubt talk about the high-level execution from Brenton Knapper and Christian Hammond in the backcourt as the season goes on if Herb Sendek’s game is going to play like this. But what’s become abundantly clear over Santa Clara’s last three games is that the Broncos have found their front-court piece in redshirt sophomore Bukky Oboye.
Oboye is 7-1 and has turned a corner with his touch and fluidity, looking like a potentially game-changing two-way player while averaging 10.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in just 13.5 minutes per game. The big man played just 1 minute in the first two contests of the season after rolling his ankle on a breakaway dunk in the season opener.
It is worth noting that Oboye needs to work on avoiding foul trouble, averaging a foul every 3.7 minutes over the last three games. But to say he’s taking advantage of his limited minutes on the court is a vast understatement. His per-40 in points is in the 98th-percentile, blocks 100th-percentile and steals 89th-percentile. His Hakeem percentage (sum of a player’s block and steal percentages) is 27.8%, the highest in the country.
What makes Oboye such a dynamic piece is his mobility and ability to extend his offense and defense out to the perimeter, making 2 of his 4 attempts from outside, with good form and rhythm and recording blocks from above the nail of the free throw line. His game is complementary to modern offense, with 14 of his 22 attempts coming at the rim, where he’s shooting 85.7% largely as a roll man.
Oboye’s size at the rim deters opponents and is a major component to the Broncos’ defense, giving up just 57% shooting at the rim. He holds an 87.2 defensive rating, balanced by his 140 offensive rating on 26% usage. Santa Clara may need to win one of their matchups against Saint Mary’s or Gonzaga to have a shot at an at-large bid, and if Oboye is able to grow into his role and learn how to stay on the floor, Santa Clara has a real shot to play in the tournament for the first time in 30 seasons."
........................................
Continuing With Early Season College Game Scores
Loyola Marymount went into The Thunderdome and emerged a 78-74 overtime victor versus UC Santa Barbara as Myron (Vacaville High/San Jose State University) Amey Jr. tallied 29 points (6-7 on treys) to put the roar into the Lions. Aiden (Campolindo High/St. Mary's) Mahaney scored 17 points and issued four assists for the Gauchos who surrendered a 40-31 halftime lead.
Bethesda finally got SJSU off the schneid and into the win column after four games as the host Spartans won 110-56. In 27 minutes for San Jose, redshirt freshman Ben (Monterey Trail High) Roseborough produced 15 points (5-8 from long distance) plus four assists.
AND
The Spartans then bested Southern University 80-66 as freshman guard Ben (Monterey Trail High) Roseborough tallied 16 points despite an off-shooting night. Senior big Yaphet Moundi posted a 21 point, 11 rebound double-double for SJSU and guard Jermaine Washington buried four treys on his way to 17 points.. Coach Tim Miles' squad 'enjoyed' 15 turnovers by its backcourters, a problem that needs a quick turnaround.
AND
"SPARTANS SIGN GUARD CADE KRUEGER"
Krueger is a 6-foot-2 backcourter attending Amador High.
........................................
It's early but Cal Poly earned the win of its season in beating host Utah 92-85. The Mustangs jumped out to a 50-39 lead and never looked back, handing the Utes their first loss this season. 6-foot-5 sophomore Cayden (St. Mary's-Stockton) Ward paced the visitors with 28 points in 33 minutes plus provided eight rebounds and teammate Hamad Mousa scored a point a minute with 26.
........................................
St. Mary's hosted an unusual opponent—Arkansas State—and had little trouble in going to 5-0 with an 85-72 victory. Is it premature to call it the coming out party for 7-foot-2, 285 pound Andrew McKeever? The enormous Granada High grad scored 16 points, brought down 17 rebounds and blocked five shots in 32 minutes of play. Gael fans gotta believe that the chances of taking down Gonzaga are so much better if this is indeed the emergence of McKeever. St. Mary's is shooting 46% from long distance so far this season.
........................................
Money (Oakland High) Williams paced Montana with 22 points on 8-11, 5-6 and 1-3 shooting respectively, adding seven assists, five assists and two steals but the Grizz fell 86-81 to host Texas A&M. Williams looks to be the sole consistent playmaker on his squad and that is likely a reason for his high turnovers (six) here and in preceding games.
........................................
In an overtime surprise which will have Mountain West coaches requesting video, visiting Troy toppled San Diego State 108-107 despite Miles (Lincoln High-Stockton) Byrd scoring 24 points on 7-12, 4-8 and 6-7 shooting respectively, but nabbed nary a steal. Each team lived at the foul line, with the Aztecs shooting 48 attempts and Troy 43.
........................................
USF had no trouble taking down visiting Northwestern State 84-64, leading 50-31 after 20 minutes. This despite the absence of Ryan (Dougherty Valley High) Beasley presumably due to illness. A balanced scoring offense did the trick.
AND
With Ryan Beasley back and scoring 24 points (8-13, 4-6, 4-4 shooting respectively), USF downed Minnesota 77-65 in a South Dakota-based tournament. The Dons shot 49% overall, 11-22 on three-pointers.
........................................
Santa Clara moved to 5-0 this season after besting Idaho State 64-55. This despite shooting just 35% overall for the night, including 4-23 from long distance.
AND
The Broncos then walloped Louisiana 80-43 at home to move to 6-0, this despite an 8-34 shooting night from beyond the arc. Christian Hammond led SC with 19 points.
........................................
To the tune of 93-66, Stanford went to 4-0 on the season after downing Louisiana. Freshman guard Ebuka Okorie totaled 26 points in 34 minutes, shooting 6-10, 3-5, 11-13.
AND
Stanford fell at home to Seattle 77-69 with a primary factor being a very poor shooting night (37%, 28%, 64% respectively, while Seattle proved much more accurate at 48%, 41%, 83% respectively. In his return to the Bay Area, forward Will (Archie Williams High) Heimbrodt scored 13 points, blocked six shots and grabbed five rebounds.
........................................
Host California toppled Presbyterian 67-57 as John Camden led the Bears with 20 points. Cal shot 26-51 overall.
Game review by Write For California.
AND
California welcomed Sacramento State but proved to be rude hosts to the tune of 91-67. Chris (De La Salle High) Bell's 21 points led the Bears.
........................................
Sacramento State got the opportunity to play in Pauley Pavilion versus UCLA but the outcome was a 78-49 loss. The Hornets shot 34% overall, 3-24 from three-point range.
........................................
Pacific went all the way to Boca Raton and got beat 82-59 by Florida Atlantic as Ralph Elias led the Tigers with 16 points. It must have been chilly, at least for the visiting team, since they went 21-50 overall and just 2-11 from long distance.
........................................
UC Davis fell 95-79 to host Colorado as guard Marcus Wilson led the Aggies with 21 points and Nils Cooper (Michael's son) almost reached a double-double via 14 points and nine boards.
........................................
Even though Illinois fell at home to Alabama 90-86, Andrej (Jesuit High) Stojakovic continued to show what he'll be doing the rest of the season for Coach Brad Underwood's crew. The Stanford and California transfer put up 26 points in 30 minutes on the court, shooting 11-16, 2-3, 2-5 respectively.
........................................
Freshman guard Gavin (Modesto Christian High) Sykes went for 24 points but Long Beach State still fell to visiting Montana State 78-72. Sykes shot 9-16, 2-4, 4-4 respectively. One issue needing bettering for The Beach is garnering just six assists on 27 baskets made.
........................................
Guard Quinn (Bellarmine College Prep/West Valley College) Denker scored 21 points and dished out six assists but Northern Colorado fell 73-72 in a tournament game in Portland.
Behind 29 points from guard Quinn (Bellarmine College Prep/West Valley College) Denker, Northern Colorado nabbed an 86-80 overtime road win versus host Portland. He shot 8-14, 3-4, 10-10 respectively, and added seven rebounds plus six assists.
........................................
UC Riverside topped San Diego 85-71 as De'Undrae (Salesian Prep/Westmont College) Perteete scored 10 points and added six rebounds plus three assists (the latter two totals tied for team highs). Perteete was a perfect 4-4 from the field, with two three-pointers.
........................................
Non-D1 games
Chico State's Cortevious (Granada High) Taylor scored 24 points but the Wildcats fell on the road in overtime 94-89 to Central Washington.
Stanislaus State got by Dominican University 93-89 as Tahjae (Monterey High/Gavilan College) Ordonio scored 17 points in 14 minutes and fellow backcourter Donjae (Weston Ranch) Lindsay tallied 16 points, four assists and three steals.
William Jessup University fell to visiting Cal Poly Humboldt 85-81 in double overtime although former Long Beach State talent 6-foot-3 guard Varick (Monterey Trail High) Lewis did his best with 21 points on 7-14, 4-8, 3-3 shooting respectively.
Host William Jessup University then fell to Cal State Monterey Bay 77-69 despite WJ's Varick (Monterey Trail High) Lewis totaling 15 points and Andre Norris reaching double-double status with 12 and 12.
6-foot-1 freshman guard Brandon (Benecia High) Earl provided 27 points, eight boards, three assists and a trio fo steals as Diablo Valley College romped 107-66 versus Coalinga College.
Cañada College handled host Hartnell College 92-71 in a pairing that featured remarkable outings on both sides. For the victors, 6-foot-6 sophomore Jake (Los Altos High) Skaggs scored an unremarkable 14 points (just seven shots) but contributed 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. For HC, 6-foot-2 sophomore Blake (Centennial High-Bakersfield) Dibble was big again with 30 points (6-6 from beyond the arc) plus six boards, five assists and four steals.
6-foot-7 sophomore Will (San Ramon High) Ambige did it again for the victors with 16 points and 16 boards in Foothill College's 76-62 defeat of Cuesta College.
Cameron Kelly shot 7-11, 1-2, 8-8 respectively en route to 27 points and add five board, four assists and a pair of steals in College of the Sequioas' downing of Bakersfield College 80-50. BC withered in the second half due to a 50-16 deficit.
6-foot-5 sophomore Oliver Borgol totaled 34 points, shooting 12-16, 0-1, 10-10 respectively, in the College of Marin 89-61 defeat of Skyline College.
Ohlone College beats San Joaquin Delta College 103-55. Ohlone is now 5-1, continuing their hot start to the season.
- Kevin London 26 pts, 3 reb
- Kiratraj Sanghera 17 pts, 12 reb, 5 blk
- Omar Babikir 12 pts, 8 ast
- Anthony Lacy 12 pts, 7 ast
- Jamari Widemon 8 reb, 3 ast
........................................
