Top-rated Kansas basketball signee Darryn Peterson expected to attend Big 12 opener
Kansas is expected to have a special visitor sitting right behind the KU bench for the team’s Big 12 men’s basketball opener against West Virginia on Tuesday afternoon.
Barring any change in plans, that person, The Star learned Friday from a source close to the situation, is future Jayhawk Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior combo guard from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, ranked No. 3 nationally by all the recruiting services.
Peterson, who signed a letter of intent with KU on Nov. 13, is believed to still be in the running for 2025 high school player of the year honors. He undoubtedly will be invited to participate in the McDonald’s All-America game with BYU signee A.J. Dybantsa and Duke signee Cameron Boozer.
He played his first two years of high school basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Cuyahoga, Ohio. He then transferred to Huntington Prep in West Virginia in 2023-24 before moving on to Prolific Prep.
Peterson — he chose KU over USC, Ohio State and Kansas State in recruiting — played club basketball for Phenom United where he averaged 28.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 4.2 steals and 3.0 blocked shots per game this past summer in the Adidas 3Stripes Select league.
In 2023, Peterson won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. At the championship, Peterson averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.3 steals in earning all-tournament honors.
“This is one of the best recruiting moments that Kansas basketball has had in decades,” KU coach Bill Self said at the time of Peterson’s signing. “Darryn is an all-around guard that scores at all levels and is also a terrific facilitator and defender. He has been well drilled and has a toughness about him being raised in a family where his brother is a successful football player at Wisconsin.
“Darryn was as important as any recruit we have recruited in recent memory. Coach (Kurtis) Townsend did a great job as the lead recruiter. Darryn can be a catalyst to also draw other players to our program.”
Self was asked recently to come up with a player comparison for Peterson.
“I would from a potential standpoint, Andrew (Wiggins),” Self said of the former KU one-and-done wing, now with the Golden State Warriors. “There’s probably no one as complete a guy at his age that I’ve ever recruited. From an impact standpoint, Andrew, B-Rush (Brandon Rush), Josh (Jackson), maybe that you knew coming here Day One they would be (impact players). Darryn is one of those kind of guys.”
Peterson, who is originally from Canton, Ohio, chose KU over USC, Ohio State and Kansas State.
“The bottom line is: Will he play point? Yes,” Self said of Peterson. “Will he play off the ball? Yes.”
Jonathan Wasserman of NBA TV/Turner wrote on X that Peterson “could be “No. 1 prospect for the 2026 draft. No knock on AJ or Cam. DP just keeps getting sharper with handle/pacing for creating separation, shotmaking skill/balance, decision-making, optimizing athleticism, IQ on D.”
Noted NBA skills coach Chris Brickley on X: “Been saying Darryn Peterson is the best player in High School Basketball right now. just named him top player for the 2026 NBA Draft! So skilled, so poised, so urgent, it’s gonna be fun to watch him grow.”
Tipoff for KU-West Virginia is 1 p.m. Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse. It will be shown on ESPN+.
This story was originally published December 27, 2024 at 6:28 PM.
