Preston Murphy's cryptic tweet has Alabama basketball fans dreaming of AJ Dybantsa

A big part of the reason Alabama basketball is in contention for the nation's No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa, is because of assistant coach Preston Murphy. Murphy has a longstanding relationship with Dybantsa, coaching him on the AAU circuit when Dybantsa was just a freshman and long before anyone viewed him as the future No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

On Wednesday, Dybantsa released his list of four finalists, which included Alabama along with BYU, North Carolina, and Kansas.

Murphy's early relationship with Dybantsa is what made his post on social media on Friday morning all the more interesting:

The early bird gets the worm. Is Murphy alluding to being the early bird in Dybantsa's recruitment? He built the relationship with Murphy before everyone came running. Alabama may not be able to match some of the NIL offers on the table, but Dybantsa is a big enough name that he will command NIL deals on his own without it needing to be funneled through the school.

Murphy made waves on social media this past offseason during Alabama's pursuit of Cliff Omoruyi. Murphy was consistetly posting images on Twitter that would always include, if you zoomed in and could find it, a tiny picture of Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Alabama ultimately landed Omoruyi to provide the rim protection it needed to chase a national championship. Murphy is an ace recruiter and a huge part of Nate Oats' staff. If Alabama ultimately lands Dybantsa, he'll be a major reason why.