Tuesday night saw former Kansas Jayhawk star, Darryn Peterson be drafted by the Utah Jazz with the No. 2 overall pick.
Since then, the media has seen a new side to the shy Peterson as he is quickly becoming one of the darlings of this class. Head coach Bill Self even released a projection for the former Jayhawk that would turn him into an NBA superstar.
However, as the first round finishes, the attention now turns to the second round, where another former KU player is projected to land, according to James Fletcher III of On3.
Tre White predicted to land late in the second round
Having initially committed to the Jayhawks before his sophomore year of high school, White then decommitted and found himself making stops at USC, Louisville and Illinois, before opting to spend his final year back where it all started.
White went through what most would call a good, if not great, senior season. White averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists on a strong 45% field goal rate that also saw White finish the season with a 40.3% rate from beyond the arc.
Were there flaws in his game? Of course, namely that when Peterson was brought back fully into the fold as his injury situation eased, his own numbers suffered, so the team was reliant on a new stellar scorer to get them through, and White was inconsistent in that aspect
White went 38/94 from the field in the last nine games of the season, measuring out to a 40% field goal rate. Those numbers are also heavily skewed by the fact that White put up two stellar performances against Houston and Kansas State, where he converted on 15 of his 25 attempts.
When looking at his year-on-year statistics, one thing that pops out is his improvement from beyond the arc. White posted three-point rates of 26.5%, 29.9% and 32.9% before this season’s jump to slightly over 40%. This season, White shot nearly double the number of threes attempted from last season, going from 70 at Illinois to 139 at KU.
White finished the season with a high of 23 points in the aforementioned matchup against Houston and 23 points against Duke earlier this season.
In both those games, White kept his shooting rates above 50%, proving that on his day, he will finish as the most efficient scorer on most courts.
According to Fletcher, White is supposed to land with the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 58 overall pick, just squeezing in two picks before the draft finishes.
If White were to be selected, he would become Kansas’ 91st draft selection and 33rd since Self took charge ahead of the 2003-04 season.
When speaking about Tuesday’s draft, Self relayed in a press release, “Tonight was a great night for Darryn, his family, and all KU supporters," Self said.
"I obviously feel that he is the best prospect in the draft, and he'll have an opportunity to prove that in Utah. Darryn has as much upside as anybody we've had here at Kansas. The fans in Salt Lake City will be so excited watching him play on a nightly basis. Our hope now is that Tre (White) and Melvin (Council) can have their name called. But even if not, I feel like they're in good position to pursue their career."
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