Jacque Vaughn talks Darryn Peterson, Taylen Kinney and his own return to KU
Kansas assistant basketball coach Jacque Vaughn is quite familiar with the Utah Jazz, the team that Tuesday night selected Darryn Peterson No. 2 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
“I know that group personally in Utah. I spent some time there,” Vaughn, a first-round pick of the Jazz (No. 27 overall) in the 1997 NBA Draft said Wednesday.
“They have a young team, but they’re on the precipice of making the playoffs. They made some moves at the end of last year to put them in a position to vie for a playoff spot and that’s a much better position for Darryn than going to a team that’s going to win 17 games. He’ll play some meaningful games. He’ll have responsibility, but it all won’t be thrown on him as the No. 2 pick going to Utah,” Vaughn added.
Peterson, a 6-foot-5 combo guard from Canton, Ohio, worked with 6-foot-1 former KU and NBA floor general Vaughn closely last season, Vaughn’s first on the KU coaching staff after his stints as head coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.
“I always say, ‘People don’t decide their future. People decide their habits and then their habits decide their future.’ Darryn was an individual who had great habits and that’s why you see him as a second pick walking across the stage with commissioner (Adam) Silver,” Vaughn said Wednesday, filling in with fellow KU assistant Jeremy Case for Bill Self as host of the Hawk Talk radio show.
“Darryn’s ability to work on a daily basis, be a sponge (knowing he) didn’t have all the answers. … For me to be able to be in the gym with him, have sweat equity, to see him grow as a teammate. ... He had an infectious laugh that I can hear in the back of my head. They’re getting an unbelievable individual.”
The Jazz also have a former Jayhawk wing on the roster in Svi Mykhailiuk. Other Jayhawks who have played for the Jazz include Vaughn, Greg Ostertag, Udoka Azubuike, Ochai Agbaji and Kelly Knight.
Peterson averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game during the 2025-26 season, his one season at KU. Vaughn in a four-year KU career from 1993-94 through 1996-97 had career marks of 9.6 points and 6.4 assists. Vaughn’s jersey hangs in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse following a jersey retirement ceremony in December 2002.
“I always say as a coach, the luxury you can have is to give the ball to a guy at the end of the game and say, ‘Go get a bucket.’ Paul (Pierce, one of Vaughn’s KU teammates) could do that, and Darryn could definitely do that,” Vaughn said.
“I think you’ll see with the space in the NBA he’ll have more room to operate. Great group around him. We’ll see a pretty good Darryn Peterson in Utah.”
Peterson will be playing for fourth-year coach Will Hardy, a friend of Vaughn’s who worked on the same coaching staff as the KU assistant several years ago in San Antonio.
Vaughn said he’s thrilled to “have another Jayhawk in the NBA. ... He’ll have multiple contracts there and we’ll invite him back here as a Jayhawk.
“We’ll love him, and I love that he told everyone that if he could do it all over again, he would be a Jayhawk. There’s other recruits that are listening to that who will understand how special this place is, how special the people are.”
Vaughn is beginning his second season as a member of Bill Self’s KU coaching staff.
He’s been working this summer with first-year KU point guards Taylen Kinney and Leroy Blyden Jr. The 6-foot-2 Kinney is a McDonald’s All-American who recently arrived on campus for summer school after playing for USA Basketball’s silver-medal winning Under 18 team at the AmeriCup in Mexico.
“He’s better than me,” Vaughn said, asked by Hawk Talk host Brian Hanni if there are any comparisons to make between Vaughn and Kinney.
“These guys are so good. The ability to change direction, the ability to be creative with the basketball. I think this generation is steps forward from my generation. His (Kinney’s) ability to go full speed, change direction, make a pass, make a play at the rim is so high level. I’m excited to work with him.”
Vaughn, 51, said he’s thoroughly enjoying his time at KU as a coach. He’d been immersed in the NBA ever since leaving KU.
“It’s been a fun experiment,” Vaughn said. “I think my eyes were wide open to seeing what college basketball was like on a daily basis. I had been around the NBA world for so long, and really wanted to see what this thing was like. Looking under the hood, in the glove box, in the trunk. I always saw that shiny car from the outside, and so this gave me a chance to really dive in and see what college basketball is about.”
Of working with Hall of Famer Self, Vaughn said he’s learned “you can be really, really good, and do things differently. The approach that you can have as a coach, if you are authentic to yourself, then you can find success. And so, Coach is really good at doing simple better. There’s something to that.”
