KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Duke standout Cameron Boozer and fellow Kansas freshman Darren Peterson have made it clear this college basketball season that they intend to be the first three players selected in this summer’s NBA draft.
DiBantsa wants to prove during the postseason that he deserves to be No. 1.
He got off to a start Tuesday night, scoring 40 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists, and the No. 10 seed Cougars powered to a 105-91 win over No. 15 seed Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
“Today I was just trying to focus on winning,” Dibantsa said. “Whatever it takes to win.”
DiBantsa set the Big 12 championship scoring record for a freshman, surpassing the mark set by Kevin Durant (37) when Texas played Kansas in 2007.
But the highlights didn’t stop there. among them:
• Scored the second-most points in a Big 12 Tournament game (Mike Singletary of Texas Tech scored 43 in 2009).
• Made 15 field goals, a Big 12 tournament record.
• Became just the fourth NBA player in the last 30 seasons with 40 points in a conference championship game.
• It was his sixth 35-point game of the season, breaking a tie with Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley for the most games in Big 12 history.
• Scored or assisted on 54 points, the most “points created” in a game in Big 12 Tournament history.
• He became the first player to score 35 points and provide five assists in a Big 12 tournament game.
“What he was doing was impressive because I thought he was scoring in every way possible,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I think it was probably one of his most complete games — off the high ball, he passed the ball to a server at the end. But I thought it was just a complete display of his skill set. I think he’s the most skilled player in college basketball.”
DiBantsa nearly matched his career high of 43 points, which he scored in a win over Utah in January.
“The main goal is to reach the championship,” Dibantsa said. “If I had to score 43 points, I would try to do it, but I’m not trying to set a record.”
He may need to set some records to win the tournament.
Some late-season struggles stemming in part from a season-ending knee injury to floor leader Richie Saunders left the Cougars (22-10) to lose in a tiebreaker for seeding and fall to 10th in the tournament. That means a first-round game against Kansas State on Wednesday night, when all of the league’s top heavyweights were resting in hotels or at home.
DiBantsa scored 21 points in the first half, but the Cougars led only 50-49. They only had that lead because of a turnover that dunked it at the buzzer. Robert Wright III had an open dunk of his own but waited to give DiBantsa the easy points instead.
“It’s something we’ve really been keeping an eye on our guys all year,” Young said. “We have talent, obviously, and we just try to make simple plays and play together, and sometimes that’s easier said than done. I thought AJ made a lot of unselfish plays, too.”
When BYU needed a basket, Dybantsa was okay with being a little selfish.
After closing the Wildcats within 64-57, he scored on back-to-back drives from the floor. When Taj Manning hit a 3-pointer to put Kansas State within 68-63, the freshman delivered a dunk for BYU. And when Manning scored moments later, with BYU clinging to a 73-67 lead, DiBantsa converted an acrobatic three-point play to get some breathing room.
The only cloud on the night was the fact that BYU didn’t pull away from Kansas State until late, and Dybantsa ended up playing just 3 1/2 minutes. With a second-round game against No. 7 West Virginia looming on Wednesday, and three more games after that if the Cougars are going to cut down the nets by Saturday night, he can use whatever he can get.
Then again, it’s hard to prove that you deserve to be the first pick in the draft by sitting on the bench.
Information from ESPN Research and the Associated Press was used in this report.
