- 13 hours ago
Grant & Danny are joined by BYU asst Brandon Dunson, who gives insight on the work ethic and growth of AJ Dybantsa.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Coaches at Brigham Young on the coaching staff and assistant there last year.
00:05Brandon Dunson is on our Rude Guest Hotline.
00:07Rude, the most reliable heating and air conditioning products in the DMV.
00:10Coach, thank you so much for a few minutes.
00:12You're on in the nation's capital.
00:13How are you?
00:14Things are good.
00:15Things are good.
00:16How's everything your way?
00:17We're excited.
00:18We're fired up.
00:19You tell us, though.
00:20How excited should we be?
00:21You guys should be as excited as you could be.
00:24You're getting not just a superstar player, but a superstar guy who's an amazing teammate.
00:31We all know what he can do on the floor, but also he's going to be a great representative off
00:36the court as well.
00:37You guys played such a great out-of-conference schedule to start the year,
00:41watching you guys go up against UConn and a bunch of other national powers.
00:45Just, A, what did you guys think initially when he came to campus talking about A.J.?
00:50What did you have, and then kind of what did you learn about him,
00:53and where did some of that growth happen?
00:56Yeah, I mean, we targeted A.J. as soon as we got here, got the job here.
01:00Luckily for us, he was going to school in Utah for his senior year,
01:04so we got to get in there with him early.
01:07Obviously, I've been watching him for years.
01:10I was coaching at Stanford before, and he was a high academic kid as well,
01:13so I'd seen him forever.
01:16We knew how talented he was.
01:18What we didn't know was how great of a teammate he was
01:22and how insane his work ethic was, and that's something that propelled him.
01:27I mean, yes, he led the country in scoring, but he got better every single game.
01:34Like, he was so efficient in the things that he did.
01:36He understood the game at a very high level.
01:40He's one of the quickest processors I've ever been around,
01:43where you tell him to do something, and he can implement it right away
01:48as soon as you tell him how to do it.
01:49He also reads the game really well and was great in timeouts at strategizing,
01:54saying, hey, they're doing this.
01:56We can look at this read.
01:57We can look at this and helping his teammates get easier looks and things like that.
02:02But A.J. DeBonsa, the newest wizard, played at BYU.
02:06Brandon Dunson, one of the assistants, leading that program last year,
02:09helping A.J. DeBonsa.
02:11So if you could, how quickly did it take hold that you learned all of that?
02:18Like, that's a season's worth of lessons, but when you get him in there,
02:21you've watched him, you've scouted him, you know he's special.
02:25When did you realize, wow, this guy's actually different?
02:28And then when did you start to think he was going 1-1 maybe?
02:32Very early, very early when you – I mean, I'm in my 15th year doing this,
02:36and you pick up on those things pretty well.
02:38There's certain things you can't see until you're in the gym with them by yourself.
02:43You can get reports on their work ethic or their IQ and stuff,
02:47but it really takes when you get in the gym with them.
02:50But it was very, very easy to see early in summer practices that that was who he was.
02:57And Coach Young from our staff has coached everyone.
03:00He's coached Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton.
03:04He's got a heck of a pedigree, and he saw it right away that he was one of the most
03:09talented guys
03:10that he'd ever coached.
03:11And that's something that's kind of easy to see,
03:13but when you put all those other things with it at his size, I mean, he measures at 6'10
03:19inches,
03:217-plus wingspan, fourth highest vertical leap in the modern era for wings in the NBA Draft Combine.
03:31I mean, you combine all those things, and then you say he has a great work ethic,
03:36he's a great teammate, it just, all that combined, it was pretty easy to see that he's number one.
03:44You just don't see guys like that maybe once a decade you see it.
03:50BYU assistant Brandon Dunson joins us here on Grant and Danny.
03:54So, Coach, I watched you guys on TV a lot.
03:56I was intrigued.
03:57And you guys have another pro on your roster, Richie Saunders,
04:00who will have his name called tonight in all likelihood.
04:02Once he went down, it felt like there were a minimum 10 defensive eyes at all times on AJ.
04:08No disrespect to any of the other guys on your roster,
04:10but I know if I'm running the scouting report meeting, I'm going,
04:13we've got to find a way to slow that guy down.
04:15And it felt like he had to take on so much.
04:17And that was kind of my explanation or thought process,
04:20where he had to take a lot of high-degree-of-difficulty shots.
04:23I'd love for you to speak to that, just in terms of the offensive toolkit now
04:26versus what you could see it's going to be at the next level.
04:29Yeah, no, for sure.
04:30I mean, once Richie has been our leader for two years,
04:33and once he went down, obviously all eyes turned to AJ.
04:37We had another all-conference guard, Rob Wright, who also averaged 20 a game.
04:41But it was pretty much, hey,
04:42like everyone else is going to have to beat you outside of these two guys.
04:46So, and we had to force feed a lot of stuff through AJ
04:49because he's still a guy that could pull up and get a shot anytime he wanted.
04:54But he also had to make great reads.
04:56And, unfortunately, Richie's injury was big,
04:59but we also had two or three other injuries that had happened throughout the year
05:03that kind of really, really limited us.
05:05So, I mean, AJ was playing 37, 38 minutes a night at that point
05:09for the last month of the season.
05:11And he had to refigure out how to get things done
05:14because now, though he saw double teams and triple teams,
05:18I mean, he was literally seeing four guys in the paint.
05:21And it's like, now you've got to make the read.
05:23But, look, he's got his skill set.
05:26It's insane.
05:27I think he is his most underrated trait as far as on-court skill
05:32is his passing ability.
05:33I think he's actually a really, really good passer.
05:36His assist numbers were solid this year,
05:39but he made the right plays tons of times.
05:42We didn't make enough shots.
05:44I think he has the ability to be an elite-level first-team
05:48all-defensive player.
05:49He's got to be more consistent.
05:51I think a big part of that was the load that he had to take on
05:55for us offensively.
05:56But there's games.
05:57If you watch our Houston game where we played against Emmanuel Sharp,
06:01who was one of the best players in the country,
06:03completely shut him down.
06:06The returning leading scorer last year was a kid out of Kansas State,
06:10a guard out of there, and he couldn't get a shot off against AJ.
06:13So I think he's got the ability to defend one through four defensively,
06:17and I think he'll be really, really good there.
06:19But he just has a great shot-making ability.
06:22He's got the ability to get to the paint and draw fouls.
06:25But, again, similar to Coach Young, Coach Kevin Durant,
06:30and similar to him, when he gets to a spot and he rises up,
06:34you're not going to be able to determine whether he makes
06:37or misses that shot.
06:38It's all on him at that point.
06:39At 6'10", with a long wingspan and his athletic ability,
06:43when he pulls up, it's him in the rim.
06:45So I think that's going to be one of his bread-and-butter shots at the next level.
06:52Coach Brandon Dunst in BYU program.
06:56When a high school pitcher is drafted, they almost never have a change-up
06:59because they're getting drafted because they throw 96,
07:02and in high school you don't need a change-up.
07:04And I bring that up to say that one of the things that I heard,
07:08and we had guests on talking about AJ a lot lately,
07:10that they would say he'll need to work on is playing without the ball,
07:14which is another way of saying he's ball-dominant,
07:16and he's always kind of come downhill, and the mid-range game's amazing
07:20because he's getting his own shot.
07:21Well, now he's going to be playing with Trae Young,
07:23and I hope Trae Young doesn't hold the ball as much as he has in the past
07:26so that AJ can, but a thought on that if you would.
07:29How has he improved in that area?
07:32It's probably hard to when he has the ball as much as he does,
07:35but what are the things, just from a more generic basketball standpoint,
07:39that you could coach and teach so that he does improve in that area quickly?
07:43Yeah, well, I would say while he was ball-dominant for us,
07:46we also had a point guard in Rob Wright who was 20 points a game,
07:51five assists a game, and had the ball in his hands a ton.
07:54And it allowed AJ to play a lot more in the mid-post.
07:57It allowed us to use him as a screener when the ball wasn't in his hand,
08:01and it helped create mismatches for him and others
08:04because if you've got him on a screen and you're not switching,
08:08now you've got to find a way.
08:09You've got two to the ball and you've got to get back to him,
08:12and now he's got a long closeout.
08:14Or if you do switch, now he's got a smaller guy on him.
08:16So just continuing with his ability to play in those areas,
08:21I think he's improved a ton on the consistency of his outside shot.
08:26Now his numbers started going down towards the end of the year, again,
08:29because he had to take a lot more difficult shots, a lot more contested shots.
08:33But I do think he'll be a good, he'll be a 36%, 37% catch-and-shoot three-point shooter.
08:39And just continuing to get consistent with that, I think it's big when you play with a guy like Trey
08:45who commands a lot of attention on the offensive end.
08:49Yeah, go into that three-point shot if you would, Coach.
08:51I've made the same argument that you just did, where it's, yeah, off the bounce, nine dribbles,
08:55end of the shot clock, or having to evacuate from kind of a mid-post situation
08:59because there's a bunch of defenders on you.
09:00High degree of difficulty on some of those threes.
09:03But just technically, fundamentally, that's something, you know, I think that's just time in the lab, right?
09:07That's just time getting reps over the summer, and he'll be a pretty good shooter there.
09:11No, for sure.
09:12And I think if you look, before Richie Saunders went down, he was near 40% the entire season from
09:18three for us.
09:19When Richie went down, he just, it is what it is.
09:23He had to take a lot tougher shots a lot more of the time, and he had people draped on
09:27him a lot more.
09:28But as great of a decision-maker as he is, sometimes when you're as good as A.J.
09:33and somebody else is open, you taking the tough shot might still be the better shot.
09:37And I think we ran into that a good amount, and I think that's what really pulled his numbers down.
09:42But if you look, before that last month of the season, he was 38% to 40% from three
09:48most of the year.
09:50When you talk about what he could become as a three-point shooter, I mean, he probably doesn't have to
09:55shoot over 40%.
09:56Like, that's never going to necessarily be a strength.
09:59I mean, maybe you can push back on that.
10:01But, like, what does he have to get to?
10:03And at his best, if everything works out, like, what is his game, I guess, is what I want to
10:08know.
10:09Yeah, well, the thing about A.J. is he has a great understanding of how to get to the paint
10:14and draw fouls.
10:15And I think that's where he's good.
10:17There's a lot of times where, like, people didn't think he was as willing of a shooter.
10:23And the problem is he didn't have to be.
10:26Like, yes, he might have had some open shots that he passed on, but he knew he was going to
10:31be able to get to the paint and draw contact,
10:33get us an extra possession, get one of their better players a foul.
10:37So now one more foul, now they're sitting out for the rest of the half.
10:41Like, he understood that.
10:43What he is is a guy that can make shots, and he can make tough shots, and he has great
10:48confidence in what he does.
10:49He puts the work in.
10:51And he shoots it as well as anybody when it comes to being in practice, getting reps, and those things.
10:57But he's got so many tools in his tool belt that he doesn't have to be the 40% shooter
11:03as long as he's capable.
11:05I mean, there's games where he made four or five threes in a game.
11:08Like, you have to respect it.
11:09And because of that, now you have to close out and take that away, and he's able to use all
11:14his other skill sets against you.
11:16So if you – I always hate doing this because it describes things, and it's not fair to let the
11:20– you know, we have to let the kid be the kid.
11:22But we live in this world of comps, and I love doing it as much as anybody else.
11:26So here's who I see, and you were on him every day, so you could tell me I'm a horse's
11:29ass.
11:30He referenced Len Bias, which I thought was incredible, especially coming to this D.C. area.
11:34Obviously, for – you know, younger viewers never saw him play, but you've seen the highlights.
11:37I see a little bit of that.
11:38I see some Tracy McGrady, too, in that, as you mentioned, when he's in rhythm and he elevates, no one's
11:43up there with him to block a shot.
11:44It's up to him whether he makes or misses it.
11:46And I think of McGrady at 19, and I think of DeBonta at 19, a lot of similarities there.
11:50Who do you see, and, you know, am I crazy, or is there someone else that comes to mind?
11:55No, Tracy's who I've always – who I've always thought he was because they've got the ability to be playmakers.
12:02They also have the ability to obviously score the ball.
12:05They're similar size.
12:06I believe AJ's a little bigger physically than Tracy was at the same age.
12:13Tracy, when you remember Raptors, Tracy was a high-level, one of the best young defenders in the NBA.
12:19Now, when he went to Orlando and Houston, that changed because of the scoring load he had to take on.
12:25But I think there's definitely a lot of that in AJ.
12:28I think defensively, he's got some Paul George in him as well, just his ability to guard multiple positions.
12:35And when he's really locked in on that end, he can guard just about anyone in the country.
12:41But I would definitely say Tracy is the most favorable comp.
12:45His father fascinates me.
12:47I've read a lot about Ace DeBonta, his pops, who's heavily involved in, like, marketing and a lot of –
12:53from what I've read, like, non-basketball things, doesn't really involve himself with you guys and say,
12:58hey, I want him playing here or whatever.
13:00But his dad's been heavily involved, and you could tell last night, AJ talked a lot about his father,
13:05wanted his name announced that he shares with his dad, really, really important to him.
13:09What's your relationship like with him, and what can you tell us about Ace DeBonta?
13:14Is it true that he kind of stays away from, like, the basketball stuff and more just deals with the
13:19marketing things?
13:20Let me say this.
13:21I don't think anyone – I haven't been around any family that's prepared their child as much as Ace and
13:28Chelsea.
13:29They are the absolute greatest, and they've created an environment for him to thrive.
13:35And they were able to help him keep all the noise out, no matter what was said.
13:39They allowed him to grow in his own way, which was great.
13:44As far as Ace goes, it was amazing working with him.
13:49There were a lot of people who tried to throw Saul on his name before – even in the recruiting
13:54process with us.
13:55And he truly is just a man that's trying to protect his child and give his child the best opportunity
14:03to succeed.
14:04Not one time did he interfere with us when it came to basketball.
14:08In fact, he would call me a ton and just say, hey, what message do you want me to echo
14:12for AJ?
14:15He was huge in that.
14:16He supported everything we did.
14:17He kept – he allowed AJ to stay focused on basketball because he handled everything outside of basketball.
14:24In the offseason, AJ had a lot going on, Red Bull, different sponsorship things.
14:30And he went through all of it while still doing his basketball.
14:34And the day the season started, he shut it all down.
14:37Ace was like, look, we did everything we needed to do.
14:39Now it's all basketball.
14:41He's yours.
14:42Lock in.
14:42Coach him hard.
14:43I'm here to back you.
14:44And that's 100% what it was the entire season.
14:48I have nothing but love, respect, and admiration for Ace and Chelsea and the way that they've handled business.
14:54And honestly, it's why AJ is who he is.
14:57BYU assistant coach Brandon Dunson joins us here on Grant and Nate to talk.
15:00I'm with AJ DeBonta.
15:01I want to know, Coach, the thing that he improved upon the most in setting foot on campus with you
15:06guys.
15:07Like, what scenario you go, we want you to get better here.
15:09And then, as you said, he's coachable.
15:11He takes that lesson and he got better at it.
15:13Can you give me an example of that?
15:14Yeah, there's a lot of things.
15:16One is the shooting and just being more consistent with his release point, with his lower body, those type of
15:24things.
15:25Two is different reads, just continuing to improve his reads.
15:29He was in here every day, 6 a.m., working out, outside of practice.
15:34He watched a ton of film and doing those things.
15:37But I'd say even more was just his leadership and understanding that everyone's looking at him.
15:43I can remember one day in practice where they lost the competition and he was pissed and he had walked
15:51off the court just a way frustrated and then came back.
15:54And then they ran and he finished last in the running and more just because he was just pissed off
16:02that they lost, not mad at anybody.
16:03I brought him up.
16:05I showed him the film.
16:06He was never outside the top three in a sprint again.
16:11And just little things like that, understanding, look, my teammates are looking at everything I'm doing.
16:17And, I mean, I'll be honest, he's one of the – out of every star player, five-star guy I've
16:22ever been around, he's the best teammate of all of them.
16:25And he continued to just make sure that people knew that.
16:30Like, he was more excited for when something great happened for a teammate than he was for himself.
16:36And I think that was developed over time as he had been here, understanding that, look, if I pour into
16:42them, they're going to pour into me and it's going to make us a better team.
16:46Coach, thank you so much for the time today and the insight on A.J. DeBonstad.
16:50We wanted to learn more about him and we figured who better to chat with than going right to the
16:54BYU staff.
16:55We really appreciate it.
16:57No, I appreciate you all too.
16:58And good luck with everything this year.
17:00We'll definitely be watching and supporting from here in Utah.
17:03We'll see you all.
Comments