NAPA, Calif. (KRON) — Napa’s Prolific Prep is thought for turning out basketball stars. Along with quite a few high-major Division 1 stars, NBA gamers like Gary Trent Jr. and Jalen Inexperienced attended the North Bay highschool.
This yr can be no completely different. Prolific Prep boasts the 2 top-rated recruits within the 2026 class: AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes.
Each sophomores could have targets on their again, however they’re trying ahead to rising collectively on their quest for a nationwide championship. KRON4 went out to Napa to talk to the younger stars.
Stokes, a Louisville, KY native, has already been in Napa for a yr. When he heard Dybantsa was a candidate to affix him at Prolific Prep, he put his recruiting hat on.
“When my coaches first informed me that they had been excited by him, that’s once I began closely recruiting,” Stokes stated. “Day-after-day I’m calling him randomly, ‘AJ, slide, slide, slide. We’d as nicely.’”
Dybantsa is a Massachusetts native, and his household wasn’t positive in regards to the Bay Space at first, however a go to to Prolific Prep did the trick.
“It was my dad. He was like, ‘I’m not about to maneuver you to Cali.’ We’re from Mass. However then he satisfied us to take a go to. As soon as I took the go to I informed my dad, ‘I can’t go nowhere else,’” he stated.
Over the summer season, each recruits performed for Crew USA on the FIBA U-16 World Cup in Mexico. In addition they honed their video games on the AAU circuit and labored out with NBA superstars like Kevin Durant, Jordan Poole and Chris Paul.
Now, it’s time to deal with courses and basketball and keep away from the distractions that include being a prep basketball star.
“Basketball remains to be enjoyable to us,” Dybantsa stated. “However once we had been in sixth grade, we didn’t have to fret about nothing. However now, you bought brokers coming in.”
“You’re speculated to adore it, so put the job half to the aspect and simply deal with the basketball a part of it. The enterprise half will simply fall in place,” Stokes stated.
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