The energy in the Thunderdome was festive as top NBA prospect AJ Dybansta had a jersey retirement ceremony and inspired the next generation at the Soldiers showcase on Sunday.
Dybansta is projected to be among the top two picks in the upcoming NBA draft in June and will become one of the many players that came through the Oakland Soldiers AAU program to reach the NBA, including LeBron James, Aaron Gordon and Chauncy Billups.
The event also featured a three-point contest, in which UCSB star Aidan Mahaney took on the winner of the high school contest Trevor Dickson.
Closing out the event was a high flying dunk competition in which high school athletes vied for the opportunity to compete against professional dunker Chris Staples. Brevyn Montana was the top high school dunker.
The Oakland Soldiers program expanded in October to include a Central Coast soldiers branch led by coach Darnell Campbell, who was excited to have such a high profile event in Santa Barbara.
“Any time we can bring elite basketball to Santa Barbara it’s just a gem for our town. These kids came out and put on an amazing show,” Campbell said. “Shout out to AJ (Dybansta), he really embraced the kids and he is teaching them the steps he took to get to the next level.”
