Amid Saturday’s slate of college basketball games, one contest clearly stands out above the rest.
No. 13 BYU’s visit to No. 14 Kansas is not only the lone ranked matchup of the day, but also the long-awaited showdown between star freshmen AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, who are widely considered to be the top two prospects in this summer’s NBA draft.
Advertisement
While acknowledging the “great” storyline of Dybantsa vs. Peterson, legendary Kansas head coach Bill Self hopes everyone can see the entire perspective for Saturday — a crucial battle within the heated Big 12 title chase — rather than solely focusing on just two players.
“I mean, two great, great prospects. Two of the better prospects we’ve had in recent memory,” Self said of Dybantsa and Peterson during a Wednesday appearance on Jon Rothstein’s “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast.
“I mean, they’re really great prospects, but it’s still Kansas vs. BYU. The players that understand that and can play to that will give their team the best chance to win. This isn’t a one-on-one deal, this is a team-vs.-team deal.
Advertisement
“So it’ll be a storyline within the game, it’ll be fun and whoever handles this the most maturely will probably have the best chance to have some success.”
Here are other highlights from Self’s appearance on the “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast.
On what he thinks about BYU
“Love them. I think Kevin (Young) has done a great job in a short amount of time. They can stretch it from all four spots. They play around the big. They have rim protection.
“People talk so much about AJ, but (Rob) Wright is good, and (Richie) Saunders has been just killer the last two years. He is so good and he gets such great elevation on his jumper that it’s a hard one to contest. He’s making shots.
Advertisement
“It’s hard. But I like their team, I like their team.”
On the Big 12 this season
“If you’re one of the best four or five teams in our league, you may have a legitimate shot (at a national championship). It’s different. It’s what the SEC was last year, as far as (the Big 12) this year.
“Watching Arizona play in that atmosphere at BYU the other day, who’s gonna beat those guys?
“Then you watch Houston and (Texas) Tech play, and then BYU’s comeback. We’re not quite where we need to be yet, but we’ve flirted with it, we’ve shown signs.”
“Then don’t sleep on Iowa State. I mean, good gosh, Iowa State is good! We just happened to catch them on a good night, but they’re good.
Advertisement
“I really think there’s six teams, six or seven teams that if (they) get hot at the right time, could do a lot of damage (in the tournament) … It’s a monster league.”
On Darryn Peterson
“He’s got just a natural ability to go make a basket. In today’s game where everything is get to the hoop or shoot a three, he’s kind of brought back the Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) type game because he can go get his own, you know, inside the arc as well as anybody I’ve ever coached.”
On wanting to win a third national championship at Kansas
“I think about it all the time … The reason is because you got to get one (championship), and two’s so much better than one, and three would be so much better, too. That to me is what drives us and that’s what drives me.
Advertisement
“I want to do this as long as we can compete at the highest level, and in the last two years, we have not (competed) at the highest level. Now, we’ve still been good, we’ve still been competitive, but we haven’t been nationally in the game.
“This year, I don’t know that we are (there) quite yet. I think we can be very easily when we get all our pieces. So, that’s what I want to do. I want to be in the game. I want to play in the games that count the most. That’s what drives us.”
