The Tape Is Limited. The Talent Is Rare: Darryn Peterson Is Up Next.
Written by Brandon Pulmano
Founder | Sideline Society Media
Darryn Peterson walks into Barclays Center as one of two names everyone expects to hear before the rest of the room catches its breath. His father played at Akron, his brother won state titles before playing football at Wisconsin, and Peterson grew up around the game rather than discovering it. He averaged 26.1 points as a freshman in high school, climbed to 31 a night as a sophomore, and closed his senior year at Prolific Prep with a Naismith Trophy and 30.4 points a game. Peterson chose the Kansas Jayhawks, and famed coach Bill Self called him the best player the program had ever recruited. That speaks volumes about him.
What followed wasn't the season anyone scripted. Cramping traced back to his creatine dosage cost him eleven games and limited him in seven more. Even at a fraction of his health, Peterson still averaged 20.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting and 38.2 percent from three. That still was good enough for All Big 12 second team honors. At the combine, he measured six foot six with shoes and a half with a wingspan past six foot nine and three quarters and an 8'7 standing reach. He posted a 37.5 inch max vertical trailing only AJ Dybantsa in the class.
The games he did play, he was electric, rising to the moment in crunch time. He scores at all three levels and is an elite offensive player. He has shades of Kobe Bryant and Kawhi Leonard in how he moves. If he locks in on defense he can be a real force especially with his wingspan. I mean he doesn't have the sample size teams want, and that scares some of them. From what's on film, it looks more like a player saving himself for the league than a player with something missing.
A lot of boards still have AJ Dybantsa going first to Washington, with Peterson landing at two in Utah, a fit he's already embraced publicly by saying he sees himself running point at the next level. The gap between those two picks is thinner than the draft order suggests. Peterson has already shown the league what he can do at less than full strength. I project the Washingon Wizards will take Darryn Peterson with the #1 Overall Pick. When he arrives healthy, it's going to be a scary sight for opposing teams.
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