Jordan Woodson, Collin Terry, Nate Austin.

Between the time Mark Pope left BYU and Kevin Young was hired, it was the three people in the basketball offices who duct-taped much of the BYU basketball program in the few days BYU was without a coach. Jordan Woodson is a graduate assistant, Collin Terry was an assistant on the previous staff and Nate Austin was the director of basketball operations before taking over. Neither had guaranteed jobs, but instead helped BYU in hopes of being acquired.

Utah Prep – a new school based in Hurricane, Utah – recruited AJ to commit to their school for his senior year of high school. Some of Utah Prep’s donors are BYU fans, and as part of the visit, they wanted AJ’s parents to visit the BYU campus when they came to Utah. They had originally planned to visit BYU when Mark Pope was still coach, and then much of the legwork was handled by the three people mentioned above after Pope took the job at Kentucky. Ultimately, AJ’s parents (Ace and Chelsea) would tour Utah Prep and then the BYU campus after Kevin Young was officially hired – which wasn’t planned, but the timing worked out.

AJ did not accompany his parents on that first BYU visit in April. Ace and Chelsea visited the BYU campus not expecting to meet Kevin Young – he was in the middle of the playoffs with the Phoenix Suns. When Young learned of the Dybantsas’ visit, he flew from Phoenix to Provo to meet with them. New assistant Brandon Dunson was also in attendance.

Ace and Chelsea met Kevin Young at his office and sources told me they were blown away by his NBA pedigree and calm demeanor. Kevin sold them his vision of what he could do with AJ. Additionally, during this visit to BYU, Ace and Chelsea met with AD Tom Holmoe and Assistant AD Brain Santiago in the athletic offices. BYU President Shane Reese was not at BYU at the time, but Vice President Keith Vorknik stepped in and met with the Dybantsas.

During the April visit, BYU had another bullet in its chamber. Ryan Smith and Danny Ainge were on the BYU campus that day and spoke with Ace and Chelsea. They told parents that Kevin Young could have been an NBA head coach, but instead brought his NBA talents and pedigree to Provo. Ace is also a Celtics fan and meeting former Celtic Danny Ainge was something cool for him.

A source close to the Dybantsas told me that this visit left a big impression on Ace and Chelsea. This weekend the parents had a Sunday lunch with some people from Utah Prep, some of whom were BYU fans. They met influential people from the BYU community and were impressed by the family atmosphere. They also saw Danny Ainge again that evening on a “cookie walk” in the neighborhood where Danny’s brother lives.

“They (Ace and Chelsea) saw that the people at BYU really care,” the source told me.

This all happened before NIL was discussed. AJ’s parents began to think deeply about BYU at this point due to Kevin Young’s NBA pedigree and they felt welcome at BYU.

Fast forward to early June when AJ took his first unofficial visit to BYU. BYU coaches laid out the vision for AJ – NBA-centric staff – and Kevin Young knew how to use AJ better than anyone in college because of his experience with players like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. During the visit, AJ spoke to Chris Paul on the phone, who praised Kevin Young.

AJ’s official visit with his parents to BYU was the weekend of October 12th, his final visit and a month before the early signing period. BYU announced even more NIL numbers and made the point of what they’ve been saying for months – BYU was the best place for AJ to prepare for the NBA.

AJ’s last two games were between BYU and Kansas State, which I covered in November. AJ planned to attend the Kansas State-LSU basketball game on November 14th. He canceled that visit at the last minute, signed with BYU the next day, on the last day of the early signing period, November 15, and then attended the BYU-Idaho basketball game with his father on November 16, when he was officially signed .

What’s notable – and probably boosted the Dybantsa family’s confidence in BYU’s staff – is that AJ’s commitment didn’t leak. Alabama head coach Nate Oats was in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving to watch AJ after he had already signed with BYU. No one in the industry knew this. BYU kept it secret.

And that underscores why AJ chose BYU – he trusts the staff and he trusts BYU.