Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson grabbed the headlines with his electrifying performance in the Jayhawks’ dominant 80-62 win over the Baylor Bears on Friday. In only 23 minutes of action, Peterson tallied 26 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, while shooting 84.6% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
Peterson’s outstanding performance solidified his standing among the 2026 NBA draft class as a potential No. 1 pick alongside BYU Cougars’ star AJ Dybantsa and Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer.
Darryn Peterson Compared to Kobe Bryant by Ex-Jayhawks Coach
During this weekend’s segment of the “Field of 68” podcast, former Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts paid Peterson the ultimate compliment by comparing his skill set and mannerisms to NBA great Kobe Bryant.
“Nobody wants to say this because he’s unbelievable,” Roberts said. “To me, he reminds me of Kobe. The way he scores, the way he gets the mid-range, the way he shoots his step back, his size, his length, all those things. Even some of his mannerisms on the court, where he doesn’t get too demonstrative.
“He reminds me of Kobe Bryant, which I know is hard for people to believe because Kobe is Kobe. He can make a 3. He can make a floater. I saw him make a 9-foot baseline jumper over a 6-10 guy. It doesn’t matter. He can play through contact. He finishes three-point plays. Obviously, he’s a terrific passer, too. He can do so many things on the floor.”
Peterson has averaged 22.2 points on 50.4% shooting from the floor and 40.6% shooting from beyond the arc, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Jayhawks this season.
Bill Self Lavishes Praise on Peterson
While speaking to reporters after the game against Baylor, Kansas coach Bill Self lavished praise on Peterson’s impressive performance and revealed that the team was working on finding a solution to his persistent cramping issues, which have limited him in games.
“You know, DP for 19 minutes was the best player in America,” Self said. “We still haven’t figured it out, though, but hopefully, somehow or another, the light will come on and we can get him playing in the second half. But gosh, he was special there for a while.”
Peterson has electrified the Jayhawks when their season looked in danger of derailing by leading them to a blowout win over the previously undefeated No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones last week. His continued presence in the team will make Kansas a dark-horse contender for both the Big 12 and national championships.
