Evaluating Freshman Impact: Kansas' Darryn Peterson

Kansas’ Darryn Peterson has as much hype around him as any incoming recruit next year in college. That said, digging deeper into his game, an expert or two have some concerns about his style of play, while very prolific, as he comes through collegiately before eventually going pro.

On3 Insider Jamie Shaw looked at Peterson, among other freshman for next season, in a conversation last week with On3’s James Fletcher. That included some prefaces for some of the cons that would come later on as Shaw does think Peterson could be one of the best players in the sport based on what the stats he could post in Lawrence.

“My questions with Peterson come not with the production, because I think he’s going to be wildly productive this season,” said Shaw. “I think he could be First Team All-American type of production this college season.

“There’s no doubt of the production. I voted for Darryn Peterson to be my Naismith High School Player of the Year this past year. His production is off the charts and I feel like he’s going to continue that production because Kansas’ offense is going to be tailored around his pick-and-roll, with him and Flory Bidunga. He’s got a chance to have a wildly productive year.”

Peterson, a Canton, Ohio native, played at several high schools, eventually finishing his career at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. He would close as the No. 2 overall recruit in the class, behind only AJ Dybantsa (BYU), and a Five-Star+ prospect for 2025. That also had him as the No. 1 shooting guard and No. 1 player from California in the cycle. That’s per the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That had Peterson, the Naismith Trophy High School Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American who was also Co-MVP there, as one of the highest-rated signees ever for the Jayhawks and their best since Josh Jackson in 2016.

However, even with that pedigree, Shaw had some issues with how Peterson will have his game continue to translate. That’s with some elite offensive talents but none of which that fully fit the mold of who he views as some of the best guards in the NBA, especially with how high the usage rate can be for Peterson on the ball

“When it comes to Peterson, the margins are a little bit more narrow,” said Shaw. “He’s a six-foot-six, ball-dominant guard.

“As you project towards the highest levels, when you look at a guy who’s as ball-dominant as he is? They’re either ridiculously fast and athletic, guys like De’Aaron Fox, John Wall, Russell Westbrook, or they’re incredible shooters, you have Damian Lillard, you have Trae Young, you have Steph Curry, guys like that. I wouldn’t classify Peterson as either. What he does is he gets in the pick-and-roll, gets the initial guy on his hip, and then makes the defense make a decision and oftentimes creating a foul, getting into the lane and causing a foul. He’s had trouble sometimes, with the second defender coming up, making the reads out of that. His jump shot gets a little bit flat a lot of times. And he’s a high-volume guy so the offense can sometimes stagnate as he dribbles to kind of get to his looks, to where he’s going to get to.”

It’s aspects like those that have kept Peterson, as talented as anyone in his class, behind a player like Dybantsa, whether in recruiting or now for projections for the 2026 NBA Draft. Fletcher had it that way in his most recent mock as well at No. 1 and No. 2 with him seeing more ways to reach success, now and in the future, for Dybantsa as compared to Peterson.

“Darryn Peterson has this fanbase behind him that is pushing him, pushing him saying, no, this guy should be number one, this guy should be number one,” said Fletcher. “Me and you don’t agree that he’s on that same tier with Dybantsa for number one…There’s so much more that you can get out of Dybantsa when you hit those top-end outcomes than there is just with a Peterson, and that’s nothing against Peterson. It’s just a positional value in the game that we play as we go through this.”

Peterson is expected to put up some eye-popping numbers as a true freshman in The Phog. It’s just how his game continues to adjust and develop that analysts like Shaw will be watching as his career continues, starting with this season with Rock Chalk.

“When you look at the top levels of basketball, I have more questions than I do answers with Peterson,” admitted Shaw.