Fresh off a win in the First Four, earning the reward of facing the potential #1 pick in the first round of March Madness, the 11-seed Texas Longhorns came ready to play against the 6-seed BYU Tigers.<\/p>\n
The game before, Swain sealed the win to beat NC State with the huge 3pt block on the final play, flashing his incredible defensive instincts, after clutch shots by Tramon Mark; madness came early.<\/p>\n
Dailyn Swain, a potential first-round pick, is Texas’ dynamic downhill driving wing who scores efficiently and effortlessly in a variety of ways, holding his own as a versatile wing defender.<\/p>\n
Swain can dribble, pass, shoot, switch, and make quick team-first decisions as a 6’8″ unreal scoring two-way wing.<\/p>\n
I have Dailyn “The Doctor” Swain rated 5th Overall on my 2026 big board<\/a> after Boozer-Peterson-Dybantsa-Wilson; I think Swain is a daydream<\/a> ‘two timelines’ bet for just about any team this summer.<\/p>\n Dailyn Swain gets fancy with the finish \ud83e\ude84#MarchMadness<\/a> @TexasMBB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wMpsVBGH4t<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026<\/a>Dybantsa wins the matchup battle; Swain’s team wins the war. Mar 19, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) reacts after being hit by Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) in the second half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images<\/p>\n AJ Dybantsa poured in 35 PTS on 11\/25 FG while hitting just 1\/7 3P, grabbing 10 REB, despite dishing 1 AST to 5 TO.<\/p>\n Swain produced efficiently by putting up 14 PTS on 6\/12 FG with 1\/3 3P, grabbing 5 REB, dishing 6 AST to 1 TO, and forcing 1 STL.<\/p>\n Texas HC Sean Miller says he doesn\u2019t think they can stop AJ Dybantsa \ud83d\udc40 <\/p>\n He has 20 of BYU\u2019s 37 points in the first half. (h\/t @clutchpoints<\/a>)<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/xKHvSoDo4Y<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n A potential star at the next level, Dybantsa does things on the court few if any other prospects can do, between his downhill north-south athleticism, jumping a passing lane, flying up and down for highlight slams, pulling up for turnaround fadeaway middies and stepback threes.<\/p>\n One aspect of his game that knocks him a peg below Boozer, in my opinion, is his inconsistent decision making, forcing tough shots at times can hurt his team’s chances and possibly team morale.<\/p>\n Dybantsa looks to balance his otherworldly tough shotmaking against headscratching decisions; AJ would argue he can take and make any shot, and he might not have many better options.<\/p>\n How frequently, how quickly, and how over-aggresive he is forcing those shots will help him develop his decisionmaking feel as his creation load increases; the difference between high end starter, all-star, and superstar in the NBA level is two-way impact and consistent, reliable decision making.<\/p>\n Dybantsa averages 3.4 isolations per game ending in usage (3.8 since the injury to Saunders). The 2024-25 Pacers averaged 6.4 – as a team, while also posting the league’s fastest average touch time in six seasons. https:\/\/t.co\/1hCfGdocmF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) March 20, 2026<\/a>Could Dybantsa or Swain be unlocked in the Pacers high-octane offense? Mar 19, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) shoots against Texas Longhorns forward Dailyn Swain (3) in the first half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Swain’s ability to combine his all-around ball-skills, next-level ISO scoring, downhill force athleticism and off-the-dribble shooting potential creates a dual-threat floor-bender stretching the defense as a threat from deep and threat to get to the rim.<\/p>\n Averaging 1.32 PPP on 62 ISOs this season rates Swain in a whopping 98th percentile, via Synergy.<\/p>\n Scoring 1.07 PPP on Spot Ups, 1.2 PPP on Cuts, 0.9 PPP on P&R isn’t too shabby, either, for Swain.<\/p>\n dailyn swain has progressed significantly as an off-dribble shooter this year, shooting 35.4% (17-48) on off-dribble 3s after making three total across his first two college seasons<\/p>\n will be critical for him to draw closeouts and over coverage esp given his c&s limitations pic.twitter.com\/FHB4QFHZ3Y<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf_) March 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Dybantsa offers potential in two-way impact <\/a>and scoring creation<\/a> if he continues to develop his read-and-react decision making on the ball as a team-first creator as more reps come his way.<\/p>\n Overall, he’s a very efficient scorer, especially as a high-volume pick-and-roll ball-handler averaging 1.0 PPP on 226 possessions, rating in the 87th percentile.<\/p>\n Dybantsa rates in just the 56th percentile in 122 ISOs, 0.877 PPP; however, AJ makes up for that with 1.19 PPP in 92 Post Ups, offering scoring versatility in a different one-on-one situation.<\/p>\n Including passes, Dybantsa rates in the 60th percentile as a P&R ball-handler, 57th percentile as an ISO creator, and 94th percentile as a Post Up hub.<\/p>\n For Swain’s efficiency including passes, he rated in the 60th percentile as a P&R ball-handler, the 95th percentile in ISO. He only ran 12 post ups, showing he’s more on the perimeter shooting or driving.<\/p>\n Here’s two data visualizations I made scouting AJ Dybantsa in person at two annual Montverde tournaments showing signs of his two-way impact and scoring creation.<\/p>\n All 3 #1 rated prospects from 3 different draft classes showed out in the @MVABasketball<\/a> Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT)<\/p>\n Each rated Top-3 in Overall Impact via @CerebroSports<\/a>‘ C-RAM<\/p>\n 1) Cooper Flagg (12.9) \u2014 Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) April 5, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n 2025 Montverde Invitational<\/p>\n Visualizing Scoring Creators via @CerebroSports<\/a> Data<\/p>\n Who stands out?<\/p>\n Matthew Able \u2014 Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) July 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Since high school, Dybantsa has only improved as a decision maker, offensive engine, tough shotmaking scorer for his team.<\/p>\n Would playing with Haliburton, let alone Indiana’s other playmakers, allow Dybantsa to settle into his strengths of transition play, downhill moving, shooting, scoring, play-finishing, while allowing him to develop as a playmaker at his own rate in more of an open floor setting?<\/p>\n Dailyn Swain is having the greatest self creation season we\u2019ve EVER seen from a prospect before.<\/p>\n Swain ranks 1st (!) in the nation in isolation points-per-possession (1.641), while finishing 72.7% from 2P + 57.1% from 3P. Not to mention, only 21% (!) of his baskets are assisted. https:\/\/t.co\/1CSCF8aR3z<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/fm5YPY5b9o<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Swain](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km4jfc7qqeccd6a6xh.jpg\" "\\"Swain")
<\/p>\n![\"Swain](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km4hptgn8ztavt3yc8.jpg\" "\\"Swain")
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T-2) AJ Dybantsa & Tyran Stokes (10.7) pic.twitter.com\/zT22v8DtMw<\/a><\/p>\n
AJ Dybantsa
Dante Allen
Patrick Liburd
JJ Mandaquit
Hudson Greer
Anthony Knowles
Miles Sadler
Davis Fogle
Kevin Thomas
Shon Abaev
Kalek Househttps:\/\/t.co\/drtfY4TLMh<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/62N4JDFrUi<\/a><\/p>\n