Why KU’s Darryn Peterson thought about NCAA Tournament during Summer League debut
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- Darryn Peterson scored 28 points and hit four 3s in the overtime win at NBA Summer League.
- Peterson said he had a college score to settle and was happy to get the win.
- The Jazz are likely to sit some top picks in later summer league games.
Utah Jazz guard Darryn Peterson was highly motivated for Saturday’s Salt Lake City summer league opener against Atlanta, not just because he wanted to make a good first impression on fans of the team that selected him No. 2 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-6, 19-year-old Canton, Ohio native also had a college score to settle, considering Atlanta’s Hawks were led by Zuby Ejiofor, the No. 23 pick of the first round who helped St. John’s claim a 67-65 second-round NCAA Tournament victory over KU on March 22 in San Diego.
That game — one in which Ejiofor scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to Peterson’s 21 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots — advanced Ejiofor to the Sweet 16 while putting an end to Peterson’s one-and-done college career.
“That was my first game since the last game of March,” Peterson told the Deseret News Saturday after hitting four 3s and scoring 28 points in a 103-102 overtime victory over the Hawks — a game in which Ejiofor countered with eight points and 11 rebounds.
“That (game in March) was also on my mind, because Zuby was on the other team and they beat us on that game-winner (layup by Dylan Darling at the final horn) … so I was happy to get the win,” Peterson added.
Peterson’s revealing he wanted revenge on Ejiofor for something that happened in college was noted by Sarah Todd of the Deseret News, who wrote: “If there were any concerns about his competitiveness, there aren’t now. In a summer league game where the results truly don’t matter, Peterson was thinking about the contest that ended Kansas’ NCAA Tournament run.”
Peterson’s second game as a pro — Utah’s 8 p.m. Central contest against Memphis on Monday in Salt Lake City — will match him against another college nemesis.
Memphis is led by forward Cameron Boozer, the third pick of the 2026 Draft who scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and five assists in Duke’s 78-66 win over KU on Nov. 18, 2025 in New York. Peterson missed that Champions Classic contest because of what coach Bill Self called “hamstring tightness, which is caused by a slight hamstring strain.”
Now Peterson gets a chance to play Boozer in a rematch on the pro level. Of course this is the stage of the summer league in which some teams begin to rest their top draft picks, figuring it’s not wise to risk injury in summer games where results don’t matter.
According to veteran NBA writer Todd, “If previous summer schedules are to be taken as an indication of what to expect, the Jazz are likely to sit some or all of Peterson, (Ace) Bailey and (Cody) Williams in the final Salt Lake City game, and some or all of them after the second game in Las Vegas. Fans will have to wait to know for sure.”
The Jazz will conclude Salt Lake City summer league action against Oklahoma City at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Boozer’s Memphis team will meet Atlanta in another Salt Lake City finale at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Then the teams head to Las Vegas for four or five games in the Las Vegas Summer League, which runs Thursday through July 19.
In Las Vegas, Peterson’s Jazz squad will meet No. 1 NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa’s Washington Wizards at 8 p.m. Central Thursday on ESPN.
“For Peterson, this is huge learning period,” Todd wrote in the Deseret News. “He needs to get as up to speed as possible with the Jazz’s terminology, while getting his feet wet with the first competitive games he will have played since March and the only ones he’ll play until the 2026-27 preseason is underway.”
Peterson’s first NBA Summer League game would be deemed a success. He received a standing ovation when he led the team onto the court for warmups. Just two minutes in the game he received standing ovation No. 2 when he sprinted down court after committing a turnover and forcibly blocked overall No. 8 draft pick Kingston Flemings’ layup attempt from behind.
“Saturday’s contest was just a single game in the Salt Lake City summer league, but the Fourth of July performance showed everything that had been advertised about Peterson was true,” Todd wrote of the 28-point outing.
Former NBA all-star Joe Johnson on the Apple podcast/YouTube channel @NightcapShow said: “For me, when I watched Darryn Peterson today, how he ran the pick and roll, how patient he was ... he wasn’t sped up. When he did speed up he got to whatever he wanted to. He didn’t seem uncomfortable to me. I think he has so many tools in his toolbox. The sky’s the limit for this kid.”
Jazz summer team assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said of Peterson: “He’s everything that people have said that he was going to be. He’s an incredible worker. These first days of practice, we’re trying to get a lot in in a little bit of time. He’s completely engaged and gives a max effort in whatever we’ve asked him to do. He’s been a great worker. He’s been a great learner and he’s been a great competitor.”
Peterson hopes game two as a pro goes as well as game one.
“It was great,” Peterson said after his debut game. “Kind of reminds me of Kansas a little with a great fanbase. When I put on the uniform, it is not just for myself, it is for the fans as well. I’ve been training super hard and manifesting this game since my Kansas season ended. To get out there and finally put a jersey on and play again is great. Then on top of that, I’ve got ‘Jazz’ across my chest. It’s a huge honor and privilege.”
