I drove up to L.A. last night to see Utah Prep in person and here's a few observations and stats I took in my Notes app (so they could be a little off). It was a blast to watch! Really high level basketball (for the high school level) with unbelievable athleticism and skill. 

Paul Pierce is an Inglewood High School alum and close to Jared Crowe Jr a top 5 2026 kid that Utah Prep faced so he was in the crowd which was cool. It was a road game for Utah Prep as the crowd favored the local kids from Inglewood HS on the roster.

There are 3 players BYU very publicly has its eye on (Khadim Mboup got a DNP this game but was on the bench)...

1. AJ Dybantsa 

We're all familiar with his game by now, but seeing it in person gives perspective on how fast he is and how long his strides are. He had 18 points on 6 dunks, one elbow pull up, and 4 free throws. Probably had something like 10 rebounds and 4-6 assists as well.

In the highlights you'll see a play where he gets low on a crossover and basically jumps off two feet from the middle of the paint and slams it, and another where he kind of Lebron's a fast break with long strides into a big dunk. Those two plays show his massive upside and athletic fluidity, along with the out of bounds lob which lit the place on fire.
Watching a full game however you also see the turnovers and he was something like 1 for 7 on non-dunks (0-3 from deep with an airball iirc). He wasn't as assertive offensively in the 2nd half and let JJ and Felisi have a ton of touches. I'm guessing last night was less efficient than he normally is or he wouldn't have the #1 ranking on freak athleticism alone. He'll be fun to watch wherever he lands and in the NBA.

2. JJ Mandaquit

I really enjoy his game and learned his dad is on the coaching staff at Utah Prep. He's a fiery presence on the sidelines and you can see where JJ gets his competitiveness from. He had 19 points from 5 free throws and 7 buckets, mostly layups and a few pull ups.
He's patient, plays strong, has a great feel for setting up teammates and had a nice no-look pocket pass in traffic for an easy layup. He plays hard and is intense and it's evident he wants to win. Defensively he gets after it but he struggled with Jason Crowe Jr who is an incredible scorer and put up 37 ppg as a sophomore last year in L.A. Crowe Jr had 39 points and you can see from the highlights he has an array of step backs and floaters that reminds me of James Harden meets D'Aaron Fox. Insane skill level and a surefire NBA prospect.

3. Anthony Felisi
This was the surprise of the night for me as I'd seen limited highlights. I believe he had 24 points and he did it quietly. One 3, 9 2's, and 3 free throws and if memory serves every 2 was a dunk or layup. His game reminds me of Richie Saunders in that there's a constant motor and he scores more from spot ups, cuts, fast breaks, and offensive rebounds than with the ball in his hands creating his own shot. 

Fantastic teammate and glue guy you want on the court, and he's very bouncy which he uses going up for rebounds. He almost seems to play like a stretch 4 a bit and finds himself in the dunker spot at times for drop offs from AJ/JJ driving to the hole. Very much a "right place right time" kind of opportunistic scorer. I can see why KY went after him right away as he'd be a great fit in his ball movement focused offense where he wants versatile athletes who can move, run, and shoot.

He has a really wide base on his 3 point shot so I don't see him being a dynamic shooter who can run off screens and shoot off balance and it's more of a set shot, but a capable shooter for sure. I really like his game and hope we land him. I chatted with someone pre-game who said Felisi had a great game on Tuesday night as well.

Other Notables

John Southwick — He brings the Utah to Utah Prep with an RM haircut and a spot up shooting game, and is an impressive shooter. Banged two 3's right away off a full sprint fast break and ended up with 5 3's overall (a 6th unfairly waved off as the clock died). He'll play college basketball because everyone can use a shooter, and would likely be a BYU recruit in previous eras.

Jaden Vance — Current 3 star athlete out of Scottsdale who is #13 on Utah Prep and had 2 or 3 blocks and a tip dunk that got the gym buzzing. 6'6" high flyer who also hit a 3 off the dribble so he'll be a nice add somewhere.

Jason Crowe Jr (other team) - Go YouTube his highlights this kid is so smooth and talented. Like James Harden he dribbles way too much and is ball dominant with crazy shot selection, but lots of them go in and it wasn't a fluke.

Parker Jefferson (other team) - 6'11" post from Texas who just moved to Inglewood to play for Inglewood HS interestingly enough. Reminds me of Kevin Love he has an incredibly soft touch and in my memory was like 10-11 inside the arc with floaters, left and right hook shots, fadeaways, mid-range...he hit everything. Currently a 3 star b/c he's not super springy or mobile, but that guy is going to put up points at the next level. He went right at AJ one time with a Barkley-esque backdown and some McHale up-and-unders and scored on him which the locals loved.

That's about it! As the crowd cycled out I gave Khadim a little fist boup and he smiled at my BYU shirt and me saying hope to see you at the Y soon. Word is he'll need academic clearance and may be able to join in January (fingers crossed).

Gave JJ's dad a brief "good game" fist bump and Jaden Vance's dad started a conversation with me "hey I've talked to a few of you guys already" until he realized I'm not on the coaching staff. When I said I'm just a fan who drove 2 hours to watch Utah Prep he exited the convo as quick as he could lol. 

But I'm hoping he tells that story to AJ/JJ's parents "man these BYU fans are intense some dude drove 2 hours to watch us" and not "these BYU fans are freaking weirdos"...it was a brief, normal convo so I don't think I messed anything up haha. Fun night well worth the drive you Utah locals should definitely catch Utah Prep when they are in town.