Darryn Peterson didn’t get the kind of college runway that lets a player settle in and look like a star. Kansas fans spent most of his lone season watching him battle through one setback after another, and the numbers tell the story as plainly as anything: he appeared in just 24 of 35 games and averaged 29 minutes per night.
The injuries piled up and kept changing the picture. There was the long-running cramping issue, then hamstring tightness, flu-like symptoms and a sprained ankle. That kind of stop-and-start season makes it hard for any player to find a rhythm, and it made it even harder for Peterson and Kansas to ever truly click as a unit.
The Jayhawks’ 2025-26 group never quite got all of its best pieces humming together at the same time. Peterson’s absences were part of that, but he wasn’t the only one who had trouble sustaining consistency.
Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White each had stretches that flashed both upside and inconsistency. Bryson Tiller, talented as he is, was playing his first season actually on the floor, and that showed in the rough edges.
Flory Bidunga could stake a claim as the nation’s best defender, but his offensive game was still too raw to count on every night.
That’s why the season never fully opened up the way Kansas fans hoped it would. Peterson and the rest of the group simply didn’t stay in sync long enough to reveal their full ceiling.
Now Peterson has moved on to the NBA, and the Utah Jazz rookie is suddenly drawing a different kind of attention. In ESPN’s roundup of this year’s rookies, Tim MacMahon and other NBA writers were asked which top pick has the fastest path to becoming a superstar. Peterson got the most votes.
“Peterson's path is arguably easier because of the situation he landed in with the Jazz. Unlike Washington, there is no question about the head coach's future, as Will Hardy signed a long-term extension before last season and is widely considered one of the league's brightest young minds despite enduring a rebuild that made his record ugly,” opened MacMahon.
Hardy has gone 107-221 across four full seasons as an NBA coach, with his high-water mark at 37 wins. Utah also hasn’t reached the playoffs since the 2021-22 season, when it lost in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks under Quin Snyder.
Still, the setup around Peterson is part of why ESPN’s panel sees such a clear runway. He’s projected to have room to work in a starting group that includes proven scorers Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George, players who don’t need the ball glued to their hands. That kind of environment should let Peterson step in and score right away, with the long-term upside of a two-way force who can chase scoring titles.
AJ Dybantsa, the former BYU forward, finished second with four votes. Caleb Wilson received three, and Cameron Boozer got one.
Peterson has yet to share the floor with his starting five in the regular season, and Utah opens on October 21 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In Other News...
Jalen Dupree Could Decide How Dangerous Kansas Backfield Really Is
Jalen Duprees path back has been one of the quieter but more meaningful developments of Kansas fall camp, especially for a backfield that already has some intriguing pieces. The Colorado State transfer missed spring practice while recovering from an injury, but a recent scrimmage offered a better look at the version of Dupree the Jayhawks were hoping to get when he arrived: a powerful runner who can also handle the kind of versatile workload this offense likes to create.
What makes Dupree worth watching is not just whether he is healthy, but how quickly he can settle into a role that helps the whole group function. Associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki has pointed to his progress, and Dupree has talked about his own climb back, with the expectation that he can be especially useful on later downs and in pass protection. If he continues trending the right way, Kansas could have a back who makes the rotation deeper and the entire rushing attack harder to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Why Elijah Cannon Believed Kansas Was Worth Joining Right Now
Elijah Cannons path to Kansas came together quickly once he entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Mississippi State, but the Jayhawks did not have to sell him with fluff. A call from Brandon Shelby, the Indiana cornerbacks coach who had previously coached Cannons brothers, helped open the door, and the message Cannon heard from Kansas was rooted in candor more than polish.
For Cannon, that honesty mattered. He said he appreciated the coaching staffs straightforward approach about where the program had been and what it still needed to fix, along with its goals for getting better. In a portal era full of promises, Kansas gave him a clearer picture of the work ahead, and that seemed to make the decision feel right now rather than someday. [Read more 🡒]
Jalon Daniels Is Giving Kansas Fans A Real NFL Reason To Watch
Jalon Daniels has given Kansas fans something more than a box score to track this preseason, because the former Jayhawks quarterback is suddenly in the middle of a real NFL quarterback conversation. In Tampa Bays second preseason game, he helped lead the Buccaneers from behind against the Chiefs, handling the second half and showing enough poise to keep building momentum after a strong start to his pro summer.
Daniels finished 9 of 14 for 71 yards and a touchdown through the air, added 19 rushing yards on seven carries, and has now stacked two solid preseason outings together. That has put him in the mix to be Baker Mayfields primary backup, with one more chance against the Jacksonville Jaguars to make his case even harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]