Ross Hodge, WVU Basketball Players Describe Challenge of Guarding NBA Prospect AJ Dybantsa

The potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft came to Morgantown on Saturday evening when freshman forward AJ Dybantsa and No. 19 BYU fell to WVU basketball 79-71 at Hope Coliseum.

Dybantsa scored 20 points while going 7-for-15 from the field and 2-for-7 from three-point range. However, WVU held him to just four points in the first half, going 1-for-4 from the floor. Head coach Ross Hodge said putting size on the floor was key to defending Dybantsa.

“This game in particular, more than ever, we felt like we needed size on the floor because of AJ’s size, and so you had to defend him with size,” Hodge said in the postgame press conference. “And so you knew you were gonna kind of have a combination of B-Lo, Chance [Moore] and Harlan [Obioha] or DJ [Thomas].”

Fifth-year guard Chance Moore stepped up to the assignment in the game and described what makes Dybantsa a challenging player to defend as well.

“He has great length. He’s very skilled. He knows his spots very well, so we were just trying to get physical without fouling and try to make it tough for him as possible and just don’t give him any easy ones,” said Moore.

Senior forward Brenen Lorient was Dybantsa’s primary defender on the night. After keeping him in check for the first half, the team expected Dybantsa to have more of a chip on his shoulder in the second.

“I think at halftime he had four shot attempts. So we knew coming out at halftime he’s gonna be definitely more aggressive. That’s why coach just emphasized being in the gaps early and just playing straight head up, no fouls, show your hands,” Lorient said.

Lorient made arguably the defensive play of the game when he blocked a three-point attempt by Dybantsa that would have cut the WVU lead to one point with just 18 seconds to go. He described the play after the game.

“I was just really just strapped in on trying to get a stop. It was a crucial moment. They just scored two quick baskets back-to-back, and I saw him just slide it out so I knew he was trying to get something off at the three-point line, and I just contested straight up and I was able to block it,” Lorient explained.

West Virginia will take the court again at 8 p.m. on Tuesday when the team plays at Kansas State.

Find more coverage of Ross Hodge and WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.