5-star guard Darryn Peterson recently signed a deal with Adidas, and Kansas basketball is picking up steam in his recruitment.
With the regular season underway and most players having signed their NLIs, recruiting has been quiet in the college basketball world. However, the Kansas basketball program could be gaining traction with one of the best juniors in the country.
Darryn Peterson is a dynamic talent, and 247 Sports rates him as the third-best player in the Class of 2025. The 6-foot-5 guard has been getting looks for years, most notably when future Hall of Famer LeBron James was shocked at how good he was at just 14 years old.
A student at Huntington Prep in West Virginia — the same high school that former Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins went to — Peterson competes against some of the best competition in the country every month. He recently matched up against Archbishop Wood, where former KU recruiting target and now-Miami commit Jalil Bethea attends.
Last month, he became the first high school basketball player to ever sign an NIL deal with Adidas. Kansas is widely known as the top Adidas school in the sport, along with Miami, Louisville, and Indiana, among others. That should bode well for the Jayhawks’ chances.
In addition to being an Adidas player, recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw of On3.com locked in a crystal ball for him to attend Kansas last week. Here are some of his words from his article regarding Peterson’s recruitment:
“A major shift in his recruitment happened last month when Peterson became the first high school athlete to sign a brand deal with Adidas. Indiana, Miami, NC State, Rutgers, Texas A&M, Arizona State, and Louisville are among the college programs that are sponsored by Adidas. Kansas is also an Adidas program. One source told me recently to watch for the Jayhawks here.”
This is an additional scouting report from NBA Draft Room:
“Peterson is a big combo guard with a very advanced game for a player his age. He can get his own and is also a really good passer and plays an unselfish game. Has great handles, a good first step and changes pace really well. While he might not be the most explosive athlete he’s got a nice ability to get defenders off balance, which helps him get into the lane or get free for his jumper. One of the top players to watch in the 2025 recruiting class.”
While it is still very early in the process, it is encouraging to see Bill Self back on top of the recruiting game. There have also been murmurs that Peterson could reclass to 2024. Doing that on top of committing to the Jayhawks would immediately make their class one of the best Kansas basketball has ever put together with Flory Bidunga, Labaron Philon, and Rakease Passmore on board.