As we inch closer to NBA All-Star Weekend, a lot of the attention has gradually shifted from nightly competition to the upcoming draft. In what should be considered one of the most talented drafts ever, there is constant discussion and debate surrounding who should get selected first overall. While it goes without saying, the trio of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer have been atop draft boards all season long. The crazy thing? There might be five or more All-Stars taken after this grouping. That being said, let’s take a closer look at each of those three, highlighting one per day, moving onto Darryn Peterson…
There are several reasons this upcoming group is one of the most highly anticipated draft classes of the millennium, and Peterson is a massive reason why. Despite only playing ten games, he’s gained constant traction to be the top pick this June. How is this possible, particularly in such a loaded class? Perhaps it’s because he’s played fewer games than his peers, and the general intrigue is simply too tantalizing to ignore. Peterson is posting impressive averages of 21.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 0.7 BPG with 49/42/82 splits. Although it’s not unprecedented production, the effortless way he’s accumulating these numbers is what has folks so enticed.
The biggest problem with evaluating Peterson using anything other than the eye test is the sample size isn’t large enough to make any definitive claims. He hasn’t played enough to qualify for any leaderboards. The lack of minutes played makes his advanced metrics appear absolutely ridiculous. If anything, what he’s done at Kansas is very similar to last season at Prolific Prep. So, it is a tad surprising that the masses are so entranced. Peterson does make the game look extremely easy at times, showing the ability to get wherever he wants off the bounce and score basically however he wants. Knocking on the door of 50/40/90 percentages is meaningful no matter the context or sample size.
However, it’s virtually impossible to accurately compare him to other college players. It might be an unpopular opinion, but he shares a lot of similarities to OJ Mayo at the same stages. For those who see that as a negative, it would be wise to go back and watch Mayo during his high school and college days. While they aren’t a perfect match, they aren’t extremely different either. At 6-foot-5, Peterson possesses a complete game. He’s a legitimate offensive weapon who scores the score the ball in a variety of ways, commands the attention of entire defenses, and highlights exceptional feel as a creator for himself and others. While his three-point shooting is an overwhelming positive, his free-throw rate is somewhat low for a player with his stylistic approach. Removing the one outlier game (15 FTA against TCU), Peterson has only taken 35 attempts in nine games (3.88 FTA per game). There’s little to no doubt that he’ll be a really solid NBA player at the very worst, but does he have the makings of the next potential superstar? Only time will tell.