It's a bad year for Darryn Peterson to leave the door open for the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft

It has been a tale of two seasons for Darryn Peterson. One where he has been on the court and dominating in every part of the game, and another where he has dealt with injuries and illness off the court that have kept him from helping his team in every opportunity.

Out of 24 games this season for Kansas, Peterson has only appeared in 13; however, in those 13 games, he has certainly impressed. Peterson right now is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but the more he doesn't play, the more the rest of this talented freshman class has a chance to make a move for that projected spot.

Peterson's biggest competition for that No. 1 draft spot is BYU's AJ Dybantsa, who is a part of the freshman class this season that seems to be running college basketball. Dybantsa has played in every game for the Cougars this season and seems to be a scoring machine. In his last five games, he is averaging a whopping 31.5 points per game.

Dybantsa right now is projected as the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA, and that stock could rise with each impressive performance this season. The more Dybantsa is on the court, and Peterson isn't, NBA teams could decide to go with the big man from BYU.

Peterson has shown that when he is on the court, he is electric, but it is clear his camp is running the show on when he does and doesn't play. It makes sense that Peterson doesn't want to risk any sort of bigger injury that could affect his draft stock dramatically, but teams also want to see how he does on the court consistently.

This upcoming draft class is stacked, and Peterson will need to do something special for the rest of the season to prove he still is the No. 1 player in the NBA Draft. This is not the year to play it safe with all the young talent putting on a show in college basketball.