Of course, former Kansas Jayhawk star Darryn Peterson would have preferred to have been the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, Peterson had to settle for being No. 2 overall to the Utah Jazz.
While No. 2 is still a tremendous accomplishment, players like Peterson view this as being snubbed, placing a chip on their shoulder.
The great thing about the NBA is just days after the draft, the game’s top prospects are given the chance to prove themselves in the NBA Summer League. There are, of course, different versions of the summer league; for example, Utah itself hosted the Salt Lake City Summer League, where Peterson immediately declared himself as one of the best players in the league.
Past that came the official NBA Summer League, where, while there were strong moments, Peterson also had his faults.
Across Peterson’s three appearances, the former 5-star notched 62 points, on a 16-52 mark from the field, including 9 rebounds, 12 assists and 14 turnovers.
Of course, these aren’t numbers that jump out as something incredible, but with little pressure on the results of these games, there wasn’t the amount of demand expected during the regular season.
Earlier this week, legendary head coach Bill Self spoke with the media, where he was asked about his opinion on Peterson’s performances, saying, “I thought he was really good, and then I thought he had his ups and downs, too. They played him on the ball, basically, all the time, which I'm sure that's what they want to look at, and that kind of stuff, which I think is great and good for him. So it was probably a little different for him, but I thought it was good,” opened Self.
In high school, Peterson was a ball-dominant player who often thrived when asked to create, however, he was quickly shifted to a primary scoring role during his one and only season with the Jayhawks.
…I actually thought he was good. And when he's good to me, he's the best player, hands down.”
With the Jayhawks, Peterson averaged 20.2 points on a 43.8% mark from the field, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals.
“So, I don't think he shot it anything like he's capable of shooting. But you guys know as well as I do every time he shoots it, don't you think it's going in? I don't think he crushed it. But I certainly think he did everything he was supposed to do.”
Peterson was elite when shooting from beyond the arc, adding a 38.2% rate from beyond the arc. He finished with a career-high of 32 in a thrilling overtime win against TCU.
Peterson deserves to play at his best
Throughout his time with the Jayhawks, Peterson was hampered by injuries, the most common a cramping issue. This was so frequent that fans would have to hold their breath until the first media timeout of several second halves during the season to see if Peterson was going to be able to see the rest of the game out.
For now, that narrative has been pushed to the side and for the first time in what feels like forever, Peterson can fully focus on his rookie season.
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