Utah Prep five-star senior AJ Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound phenom forward who has been at the top of the UNC basketball wishlist for over a year now, seems to have a firm hold on the No. 1 ranking in the 2025 class.

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And the Tar Heels, who hosted Dybantsa in September, appear to remain in pursuit, along with his six other finalists in Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and 247Sports Crystal Ball leader BYU. He’s eyeing a February decision, although some recent chatter suggests the end date to his high-profile recruitment may suddenly arrive much sooner than that.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, at least one of fourth-year UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis’ assistants showed up at The Grind Session in Boston, 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein reported, presumably to check out the Massachussetts native in action.

But Dybantsa’s top-shelf opponent in the game, Highland School (Va.) five-star forward Nate Ament, now checking in at No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, provides an impressive show, too, as the top stock-riser among five-star talents in the cycle.

The 6-foot-9, 185-pound silky stretch-four debuted at No. 23 overall in June 2023 and sat No. 13 when the Hubert Davis and his Tar Heels extended an offer back in late May.

Ament hasn’t named finalists. So, he hasn’t publicly ruled out the UNC basketball recruiting team, boasting two four-star 2025 commits in Gonzaga College High School (D.C.) point guard Derek Dixon and Davidson Day School (N.C.) combo guard Isaiah Denis.

Plus, it’s worth noting that the coaches in Chapel Hill checked in on Ament at his school as recently as September.

Nevertheless, the Tar Heels have not secured a visit from him yet.

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Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more UNC basketball recruiting news.