This article is Part 2 of an AmNews series on student-athletes reclassifying to enhance their academic and athletic opportunities.
Athletic opportunities, academic nurturing, scholarship prospects, and financial gain are some of the many reasons why student-athletes take the increasingly common reclassification route –– the process of repeating a grade or moving up a grade as early as elementary school.
For some, the benefits outweigh the potential pitfalls of delaying high school graduation only to fall short of achieving the desired outcomes. The AJ Dybantsa’s are rare. The 18-year-old basketball whiz kid from Brockton, Massachusetts, a 40-minute drive from Boston, is a freshman at Brigham Young University (BYU) and the potential No.1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft pick, reportedly already has NIL deals that total near $30 million with BYU and noted brands Fanatics Collectibles, Nike, and Red Bull.
For Dybantsa, the impetus for his reclassifying twice was strictly basketball-driven.
“When I reclassed, I did eighth grade twice,” Dybantsa said to nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George last October on the latter’s eponymous episodic digital series, Podcast P with Paul George.
“My first eighth-grade year, that’s when I started to get the potential buzz –– AJ’s potential is this and that,” recounted the dynamic 6’9” forward. “But my dad was like, ‘yo, you’re not doing nothing. Potential is just what you can be. You haven’t done nothing yet’ And I’m in there like, bro like, I’m having 20 points one game. And he’s like ‘and the next game you’re having three points. You’re inconsistent, get on your stuff.’”
In October 2023, Dybantsa announced he was reclassifying from the class of 2026 to his original class of 2025. He went on to play in this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game, Nike Hoop Summit, and in July, led the USA to the FIBA U19 World Cup gold medal in Germany, being named the tournament’s MVP.
AJ Dybantsa’s father, Anicet “Ace” Dybantsa, is the primary curator of AJ’s fledgling career. A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and former Boston University police officer, the elder Dybantsa was once a professional soccer player who spent his teenage years in Grigny, France, a short drive from Paris. (AJ’s mother, Chelsea Dybantsa, is from Jamaica.)
While there are numerous proponents of reclassifying, there is also a large contingent of detractors.
“I just don’t believe in the concept of getting left back academically for the purpose of academic achievement, which at one time in the Black community was frowned upon,” opined Martin Braxton, a longtime fixture as a basketball player, coach, referee, and mentor on the New York City basketball landscape.
“Now we are embracing a negative for possible athletic one-upmanship – as we all know, there’s no shortcut to athletic success,” Braxton elaborated. “I think parents who reclass their kids are putting them at a disadvantage by not having them think they are student-athletes – students being first. Those coveted DI scholarships are harder now because of the globalization of sports.”
Raven Owen, who has produced two DI basketball players, son Raven Owen Jr., who formerly played for Canisius University and last year, earned a law degree from St John’s University, and daughter Skye Owen, currently a senior and starting point guard for the St. John’s Red Storm’s women’s squad, expressed that reclassification should not be generally viewed and assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“I have had many players that have greatly benefited from reclassifying,” said Owen, a pharmaceutical executive and decades-long basketball coach and trainer. “The reality is, a lot of kids aren’t prepared academically or athletically for the rigors of playing high-level high school basketball and meeting the academic demands many of the top high schools and colleges require.
They have to mature. An additional year can have great value. But it has to be collaborative buy-in between the kids, parents, coaches, and educators.”