If you were asked, “Was Darryn Peterson ever a star at the college level?” the answer you would find more often than not is “no.”
Peterson’s time at KU was an ugly mash of injuries, including a long-standing cramping problem, with instances of hamstring tightness, flu-like symptoms and a sprained ankle, all thrown in to cause further chaos.
So no, you really can’t call someone a star if they only played in 24 of a 35-game season that also only saw him average 29 minutes per game.
It didn’t help that the 2025-26 iteration of the Jayhawks never found a way to get all five of their best players playing their best at the same time.
Even beyond seeing Peterson come in and out of the lineup, transfers Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White both had their moments of good and bad. For as good a prospect as Bryson Tiller is, this was his first season of actually being on the court, which saw its inconsistencies, and while Flory Bidunga could make the case as the nation’s best defender, he was too raw offensively, which meant he could never be relied upon.
All this combines into a season where Peterson and Co. could never mesh long enough for him and the team to show their full potential.
But now things have changed
Since Peterson’s moved on to the NBA, the now Utah Jazz guard has his sights set on what is an exciting proposition in the Northwest Division. Tim MacMahon and several other NBA writers on ESPN compiled their opinions on this season’s newest NBA rookies. Ultimately, the question “Which top pick has the fastest path to becoming an NBA superstar?” came up, and Peterson was tipped with the most amount of votes.
“Peterson's path is arguably easier because of the situation he landed in with the Jazz. Unlike Washington, there is no question about the head coach's future, as Will Hardy signed a long-term extension before last season and is widely considered one of the league's brightest young minds despite enduring a rebuild that made his record ugly,” opened MacMahon.
In four full seasons as an NBA coach, Hardy has compiled a record of 107-221, with the highest number of wins peaking at 37.
Overall, the Jazz haven’t made the playoffs since the 2021-22 season, when they crashed out of the first round to the Dallas Mavericks under former head coach Quin Snyder.
“Peterson should have plenty of space to operate in a starting lineup that has proven scorers (Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George) who don't need to be ball dominant. Peterson should step into the league as a prolific scorer. His upside is an elite two-way player who challenges for scoring titles.”
Behind Peterson is former BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, who tallied four votes; Caleb Wilson, who rang in three and Cameron Boozer, who was given one vote.
Peterson had an up-and-down summer league campaign; however, he is yet to take the court with his starting five in the regular season, which for the Jazz starts on October 21 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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