Darryn Peterson spent Tuesday morning mentally preparing to guard Victor Wembanyama. By Tuesday night, he was on the stage shaking Adam Silver’s hand as the No. 2 overall pick of the Utah Jazz. The Kansas freshman’s draft night was a blur of flashing cameras and new hats, but when he sat down with his parents afterward, one thing came into focus.
His father.
Peterson credited his dad for believing this was possible long before anyone else did. When ESPN’s Lisa Salters asked if he ever imagined his career landing here, Peterson didn’t hesitate.
“I didn’t, but my pops always knew, and once I got older I started believing as well,” he said.
That kind of confidence from a parent isn’t new. But what’s worth noting is that Peterson’s father apparently saw this coming even before the player himself was sold on it. Peterson admitted he wasn’t sure he’d go top five, let alone at No. 2. His old man never wavered.
The Jazz made that belief a reality. Peterson, who canceled a workout with Utah last week, told reporters at Monday’s media day that he had already met with Jazz officials over the weekend. ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported pre-draft intel that pointed to Utah locking Peterson in early. It appears the Jazz saw enough to feel confident skipping the formalities.
Peterson becomes the 38th first-round pick out of Kansas, but he’s the first Jayhawk to go No. 2 overall. That’s a weird stat. Kansas has produced two No. 1 picks — Danny Manning in 1988 and Andrew Wiggins in 2014 — but never a player taken at No. 2 until now. So Peterson is in a club of one at his school, at least for now.
The Jazz are betting he fits next to what they’re building. Utah’s roster is young and getting younger. Wembanyama, Peterson, and the rest of this core could make noise in the West faster than people expect. Peterson entered the night already visualizing how to guard San Antonio’s 7-foot-4 Frenchman. That’s the kind of detail that tells you he’s already thinking about matchups, not just the moment.
And his dad was apparently thinking about it all along.
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