Darryn Peterson is the best guard I've ever scouted

Call me crazy, but Darryn Peterson reminds me of two of the best guards to ever play and he'll be firmly in the conversation for the #1 pick.

I fell in love with basketball early.

By second grade, I played for my elementary school and was glued to NBA games.

I was undersized, so naturally, I played point guard and gravitated towards watching guards.

Since 2013, I’ve watched some of the best guard prospects of the century in real time.

I saw every D’Angelo Russell dime and Ben Simmons transition dunk. I watched Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball light the world on fire, and Luka toy with grown men at 18.

I had strong takes: LaMelo over Ant, Cade as the #1 player in his class, Scoot as the best guard prospect since Derrick Rose (lol), and I flirted with Dylan Harper at No. 1 for about two weeks.

I’ve learned a lot over the years — and I’m still refining my process.

But in all that time, I’ve never seen a guard quite like Darryn Peterson.

At six-foot-five, his blend of athleticism, three-level scoring, playmaking and defensive acumen is rarely seen in prospects his age.

Peterson’s final AAU season and dominant senior campaign catapulted him to the argument for the #1 spot in the 2026 class. They led to comparisons with Hall of Famers such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kobe Bryant.

To some, these comparisons may sound ludicrous, since Peterson has yet to play a possession of college basketball. Still, given his talent and skillset, I think the lofty comparisons are warranted.

Let’s get into why.

He looks the part

When you close your eyes and visualize all of NBA history and think of a six-foot-five, six-foot-six guard with a great handle, who loves to get to the rim, work in the mid range, and wreak havoc on defense, I am sure that players like Bryant and Gilgeous-Alexander are among the first to come to mind.

When you open your eyes and turn on Darryn Peterson’s film, it’s easy to see why he’s garnered those comparisons.

He moves like those guys, but it’s not just an aesthetic comparison. Peterson is among the most relentless scoring prospects in the last 25 years.

Per 40 minutes, Peterson averaged 31.3 PPG, 4.5 AST on 56.5 TS%. The guard was the primary source of offense for a talented Prolific Prep team and handled his usage (34.3%) relatively well.

The Ohio Native is a dominant driver who combines a dynamic handle with an array of counters, making it hard for defenders to stay attached to him without giving up a bucket or fouling. He plays with a herky-jerky, stop-start style that allows him to explode to the cup and puts defenders in flux. During his senior season at Prolific, Peterson generated 1.074 PPP on drives.

Peterson is pretty ball-dominant, but he also does good work off the ball. Whenever he gives it up, Peterson stays active and is excellent at attacking closeouts with quick moves to get himself looks in the mid-range or at the rim.

I’d like to see Peterson used more coming off screens or in dribble hand-off situations to alleviate his advantage-creating responsibilities. He’s shown flashes of a propensity to score off these looks, and they will help when he inevitably receives a ton of attention from opposing defenses this season.

Plenty of high-volume scorers have come out of high school, but his passing and ridiculous defense set him apart from those players.

I am convinced that the most essential part of basketball is creating quality looks for your teammates while limiting turnovers and forcing turnovers to create extra possessions.

Peterson is the paradigm of this idea, as he combined a 1.7 AST/TO with more than six stocks per 40.

Peterson’s first year played point guard for the first time in his final season of high school, and the more on-ball, pick-and-roll-heavy diet unlocked his ability to balance scoring and creating for others.

The guard is one of the best processors and interior passers in his class, and his repertoire of deliveries is growing.

The future Jayhawk is legitimately one of the best defenders in the class due to the sheer impact of his helpside rim protection and steal generation. Peterson's excellent motor skills allow him to compete at the point of attack despite his screen navigation not being the most polished.

Why isn’t he #1?

Considering Peterson’s well-roundedness and my comparisons to all-time greats, I think it is fair to ask why I don’t have him as the #1 prospect heading into his freshman season.

Part of my #2 placement for Peterson is how highly I think of Cameron Boozer and the impact he left during his high school career, but there are also pieces of his game that I would want him to improve.

The biggest area for growth in Peterson’s profile is his shot selection. For all his scoring brilliance, his shot diet can be frustratingly inconsistent. Too often, he settles for contested mid-range jumpers rather than getting to the rim, kicking to an open shooter, or creating a better look later in the possession.

That tendency led to a relatively average 56.5% true shooting percentage — not poor, but not elite for a player with his usage and tools.

Peterson’s perimeter-oriented game needs to be backed by stronger three-point efficiency and volume. Over his last 50 games, he posted a 27% three-point rate (3PAr) and connected on only about 30% of his triples.

If he’s going to reach his ceiling as an elite offensive engine in the NBA, I think he has to become an elite shot-maker from two or scale up his outside shooting to become a more efficient all-around threat.

The answer is probably both.

Additionally, while Peterson is a phenomenal interior passer and has made real strides as a pick-and-roll operator, he still has room to grow in making advanced reads. Against more aggressive coverages — traps, hedges, hard switches — he can look a bit rushed or locked in on his first read.

His final game against Dynamic Prep was a great example of how Peterson needs to grow in that area and a preview of how teams may guard him at Kansas.

His need for growth here is understandable, given it was his first year playing full-time point guard, but it’s something to track closely as he enters college.

With some refinement and sharpening of his decision-making, improved shot selection, and continued growth as a shooter, Peterson has every tool to justify the lofty comparison he’s received.

Truthfully, I’m more confident that Peterson will meet those expectations than almost all of the guards I’ve scouted before him.

He’s that advanced, that complete and ultra-talented.

All eyes will be on the freshman in Lawrence this season, where he’ll battle for the #1 pick in one of history's top-heavy draft classes.