How many points did future KU guard Darryn Peterson score Saturday? Hint: A lot
Future Kansas basketball combo guard Darryn Peterson of Prolific Prep of Napa, California, and BYU signee AJ Dybantsa of Utah Prep Academy, the top 2 prospects in the recruiting Class of 2025, were matched against each other in a high-scoring Grind Session prep school shootout Saturday in Atlanta.
Peterson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound native of Canton, Ohio, ranked No. 2 overall by ESPN and 247Sports scored a school-record 58 points in Prolific Prep’s 88-86 victory. Peterson, whose 58 points came on 26 shots, hit a game-winning 3 from the corner with one second remaining.
That bucket spoiled the 49-point scoring outburst of Dybantsa, a 6-8, 200-pound small forward from Brockton, Massachusetts, who is ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2025 by ESPN and 247Sports. Peterson contributed seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the narrow victory. Dybantsa had nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Peterson — he scored 30 points in the first half — shattered the old Prolific Prep single-game scoring mark of 48 points set by Gary Trent Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2017-18 season.
On Friday, Peterson scored 31 points with 10 rebounds, nine assists and two blocked shots in Prolific Prep’s 74-62 win over Mt. Zion Prep Academy (Lanham, Maryland).
In a game earlier this season, Peterson scored 32 points to Dybantsa’s 28 in Prolific Prep’s 76-70 win over Utah Prep.
Peterson signed a letter-of-intent with KU on Nov. 13, 2024. He chose KU over Ohio State, USC and Kansas State.
“This is one of the best recruiting moments that Kansas basketball has had in decades,” KU coach Bill Self said upon receiving Peterson’s letter-of-intent. “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.”
Peterson 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 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 event, Peterson averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.3 steals in earning all-tournament honors.
Peterson made his official campus visit to KU after signing. He attended KU’s 62-61 loss to West Virginia on New Year’s Eve at Allen Fieldhouse.
“To me, Darryn’s the best player we’ve recruited since we’ve been here,” Self said before his visit. “When you talk about a player and a combination of a player and a prospect, I think that’s without question. He’s a special talent.
“You could say Andrew Wiggins. You could say Joel Embiid, even though Joel was a prospect more than a player at that time. And there’s one other name that comes to mind, that’s Josh Jackson.”
