logo
AJ Dybantsa Makes Surprise Nike Appearance in Jamaica

AJ Dybantsa Makes Surprise Nike Appearance in Jamaica

Yahoo04-06-2025
AJ Dybantsa Makes Surprise Nike Appearance in Jamaica originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
AJ Dybantsa has been traveling the globe lately. BYU's top basketball recruit made a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix last week and got the opportunity to be in the pits with Max Verstappen's Red Bull Racing team. But he also made a surprise trip to Kingston, Jamaica to learn about his roots and giveback on behalf of Nike.
Advertisement
Dybantsa documented his journey in a recent YouTube video. He handed out shoes and basketballs, along with playing a few pickup games. This was all set up by the Bob Marley and Rita Marley Foundations. What made the meet and greet special for Dybantsa was his ties to the Caribbean island. His mom, Chelsea, is from Jamaica and created the no-nonsense structure for her son.
For BYU, Dybantsa being able to represent brands on a global scale is an invaluable recruiting tool. One of the first things people noticed was his team gear, which might be foreign to some but will start to become more recognizable and part of his brand. This comes at the right time with the Cougars building up hype toward next season.
"Dybantsa has been a celebrated prospect since before he entered high school, and has avoided many of the pitfalls of early stardom by consistently improving his game at each step in the process," 247Sports' Adam Finkelstein said.
Advertisement
"Still though, he's become accustomed to playing to the camera and can go through spurts when it becomes more of a show than a game. The time is soon coming when the level of competition won't again allow that. He won't be able to worry about cameras, officiating, or other distractions, and will have to make his singular emphasis."
Related: AJ Dybantsa admits BYU wasn't top school, blown away by NBA ready program
BYU Basketball's upcoming non-conference schedule is nearing completion after this week. They added UConn, Wisconsin, Villanova, along with a multi-team event at Disney World in Orlando. One of the best ways for Dybantsa to introduce himself to the world of college basketball.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day
The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day

Business Insider

time2 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day

In her recent deep dive comparing Comet with a similar product called Dia, Moore emphasizes that AI browsers are not just souped-up search engines. They are agents capable of performing complex, multi-step tasks across your digital workspace without switching contexts. Unlike chatbots that require explicit interaction, Comet lives alongside your daily workflow, turning everyday browsing into automated productivity. In a recent YouTube video and X post, Moore highlighted Comet's integration across Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, and more, enabling real actions such as triaging emails, rescheduling meetings, and completing purchases. Need to rebook a flight, summarize five open tabs, and follow up with a contact? Comet can do it, and remember to nudge you if you forget, according to Moore. This is where Moore thinks Comet shines over Dia: it's not just reactive, it's proactive. It handles recurring tasks, personalizes results, and pushes outputs back to you without needing to navigate into a separate interface and spin up a new project — a limitation of broader AI tools such as ChatGPT and Project Mariner. Still, Moore doesn't count Dia out. Its customizable "Skills" and multi-tab reasoning make it a great assistant for creators and researchers, especially those who like to fine-tune workflows. Ultimately, Moore crowns Comet the better AI browser, but she said that Dia remains her daily driver for personalized workflows. The bigger takeaway? AI browsers like Comet are ushering in a world where software isn't just a tool, but a collaborator.

The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day
The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day

Business Insider

time32 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

The future of AI might be hiding in a tool you already use every day

Forget chatbots. The future of AI might be hiding in plain sight: your web browser. That's the vision behind Comet, Perplexity's new AI-native browser, and one that a16z partner Olivia Moore believes could reshape how we work online. In her recent deep dive comparing Comet with a similar product called Dia, Moore emphasizes that AI browsers are not just souped-up search engines. They are agents capable of performing complex, multi-step tasks across your digital workspace without switching contexts. Unlike chatbots that require explicit interaction, Comet lives alongside your daily workflow, turning everyday browsing into automated productivity. In a recent YouTube video and X post, Moore highlighted Comet's integration across Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, and more, enabling real actions such as triaging emails, rescheduling meetings, and completing purchases. Need to rebook a flight, summarize five open tabs, and follow up with a contact? Comet can do it, and remember to nudge you if you forget, according to Moore. This is where Moore thinks Comet shines over Dia: it's not just reactive, it's proactive. It handles recurring tasks, personalizes results, and pushes outputs back to you without needing to navigate into a separate interface and spin up a new project — a limitation of broader AI tools such as ChatGPT and Project Mariner. Still, Moore doesn't count Dia out. Its customizable "Skills" and multi-tab reasoning make it a great assistant for creators and researchers, especially those who like to fine-tune workflows. Ultimately, Moore crowns Comet the better AI browser, but she said that Dia remains her daily driver for personalized workflows. The bigger takeaway? AI browsers like Comet are ushering in a world where software isn't just a tool, but a collaborator. As Moore puts it: "We may finally be there."

Jacory Patterson worked the overnight shift loading trucks at UPS. Now, he's one of top 400 runners
Jacory Patterson worked the overnight shift loading trucks at UPS. Now, he's one of top 400 runners

San Francisco Chronicle​

time2 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Jacory Patterson worked the overnight shift loading trucks at UPS. Now, he's one of top 400 runners

At night, Jacory Patterson loaded delivery trucks at UPS. That way by day, he could train. This routine went on for nearly a year to support his true dream job — sprinting. Patterson's time in the 400 meters this season has never been speedier, even if he has been sometimes sleep deprived. At 25, he finally is finding his stride and along with it earning a paycheck from track. His life began to change after winning a Grand Slam Track event in Miami, which led to Diamond League meet invitations and a sponsorship deal from Nike. Business is now booming so much for him that Patterson was able to clock out for the final time in June from his position at UPS. He has the third-fastest time (43.98 seconds) in the world this season heading into U.S. championships this week in Eugene, Oregon, where he is eager to make even more of a name for himself. 'If everything in life was easy, everybody would be at the top,' Patterson said in a phone interview. 'But everybody's not at the top. We've just got to understand everything won't be smooth, green grass. There's going to be some hills and some bumps and some potholes.' Each time he steps into the the starting blocks for a race, Patterson tells himself the same thing: Show the world. Show everyone what he can do, even if it took him a little bit longer to get here. A standout at Florida, he watched friends and rivals sign lucrative deals while he patiently waited for his time. His personal-best time before this season was 44.18 in 2021. 'I knew it was there. I just had to figure it out,' he said. 'I would tell myself, 'Man, you're young, there's no way that you're done.'" He moved back home to Columbia, South Carolina, and was hired at UPS last August for the overnight shift. He worked from 10:45 p.m. to around 4:30 a.m. He'd sleep for a few hours and be at practice by 8:30 a.m., ready to learn from coach Alleyne Francique, a three-time Olympian who represented Grenada. 'The hardest part was definitely the three hours of sleep," said Patterson, who also found time to nap after training. 'That was tough.' Hanging in his room was a slogan: 'Mind over matter.' It helped him focus on the job in front of him — getting stronger to run faster. 'I just told myself: 'Let's just go to the track, put the deposits in. After you leave the track, you can get your rest,'" he recounted. He also read novels to train his mind. In particular, a book titled, 'Hung by the Tongue,' by Francis P. Martin, which, in simplest terms, is a reminder that what you say is what you get. 'Just making sure that you are telling yourself the right things before you go on a track,' explained Patterson, who credits his family and faith for providing support until his track career took off. 'That book was powerful.' So are his prerace pep talks with himself. 'I tell myself, 'They can't run with you,'' he said. 'Just things that give me that boost, that grit.' The breakthrough Patterson gained notice at the Tom Jones Memorial meet in Gainesville, Florida, in April. He won his 400-meter heat in 44.27 seconds. In his heat that day was reigning Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles. 'But Noah doesn't run the 400,' Patterson said. He wanted to go against the big names in the 400 game. His time to shine was at a stop in Miami for Michael Johnson's new Grand Slam Track series. In the race, Patterson finished in a personal-best 43.98 seconds to edge Jereem Richards and Matthew Hudson-Smith, a silver medalist last summer at the Paris Olympics. During a postrace interview, Richards walked by Patterson and said: 'Somebody give this man a deal. Please, give this man a deal.' It was a career-altering win in numerous ways. First, there was the $50,000 payday (he estimates that check will hit his bank account in September, with Grand Slam Track shutting down its season early). The win also opened doors to other meets, like the one in Rabat, Morocco, where he won over a field that included Olympic champion Quincy Hall. In addition, Patterson also got to chat at the meet with Wayde van Niekerk, who set a world record (43.03) in winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. 'I was like, 'What's the key to running 43 low?'' Patterson said. 'He says, 'It's just a mental thing.'' Soon after, Patterson finalized his deal with Nike. 'My ideal dream was to sign after college, but that wasn't the plan for me,' said Patterson, who graduated from Florida in December 2023. 'It just gave me an extra chip on my shoulder, too. ... If something doesn't go my way I always feel like there's another way." Quitting his night job His last day at UPS was June 5. Now, he's training full time. 'I would tell myself at work at night, 'This is going to pay off,'' said Patterson, who has been invited by UPS to speak at an upcoming company event. 'I've seen so many stories where it might not be going their way when they wanted it to, but eventually things fell together for them. 'I know that as quick as you can get something, like the (Nike) deal and all the blessings that have come my way since May, it can go away that quick, too. ... You can't get comfortable. You've just got to keep going, keep working.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store