To quote Project Pat: Good googly moogly!

Kansas has not had a scoring point guard this dynamic since peak Frank Mason. From the quick, compact release of his shot — he hit six threes, many of them under duress — to his gift for drawing contact, the Jayhawks will be scary no matter who the other four out there are. (Let’s talk about “who are the other four tho” later). I wondered how his game in high school would translate to the higher, faster level.

No need to wonder a second more!

First :30 of the above video — look at how clean and quick his release is. Splash, splash. At about :42… we’re going to see a lot of DP dragging two defenders into the lane, clearing space for open lobs. At :56, a beautiful, clean stepback that is going to be there all season and will bail out some of the cluttered yet inevitable early season play architecture. Around 1:27, he’s skittering around with nothing else on his mind but getting the ball into his hands and steps into another clean three.

I couldn’t find a reliable statistic about this, but it seems like he can bait a foul whenever he wants. It felt like he drew 45 fouls. The competition was stiff: Louisville has one of the most talented two-way backcourts in the country. While this was a scrimmage, and looked the part for most of the game, Mikel Brown Jr. is a bigtime player who drew DP on defense a few times. DP cooked him. Brown gave up size, yet Peterson’s superior polish made the advantage that much more dramatic.

Quickly, let’s talk about that elevation. It’s quick and sharp, hands on the bucket in a flash. It looks a little surreal, Zion Williamson-esque burst without the heft. I mentioned in the last Darryn Peterson propaganda post that he plays really low: his compact, tight handle is a honeypot for reach fouls.

That positioning relative to the floor makes his burst to the rim that much more shocking. He’s a loaded spring that explodes into the vertical space, with a history of finishing through contact. After two or three seasons of lacking well-rounded and engaged guard, the juice Peterson has is truly something. We are lucky that a dumb rule makes him play a season for Kansas.

Let’s have some fun with comps. NBA DraftNet, whose profile is pretty ancient at this point, has his comp as Brandon Roy. I like that! I’ve seen “taller Lillard with more defensive upside,” I love that, mostly as a market indicator of his offensive versatility. After these comparisons, you can scan around a little bit for some more pornographic ideas: D Wade? Their frames are pretty similar, though Peterson strikes me as a more advanced shooter at this stage of his career. Jamal Murray? Peterson’s splashy and canny. He’s only going to get stronger, too.

I do sense there will be some issues regarding shot selection. While he made his first contested jumper, he cornered himself dribbling back into the teeth of the defense which created a much tougher opportunity than he had planned. At this point, I’m just happy someone wants to be the guy who takes that shot, after the relative passivity of last year’s “someone else do this!” approach.

As for the other guys… this is a little bit of a project. It still feels like we need more shooting. Bryson Tiller has true X-factor potential, a stretchy wing with a high motor. I’m glad he stuck around. Kohl Rosario and Melvin Council could not hit a shot, amounting to two tough debuts for important pieces in the larger vision. Tre White looks polished, in control, a veteran difference-maker. Flory Bidunga is a foul machine—you have to think some of this might have affected his run last year, as Self couldn’t trust him not to clobber his man. Elmarko Jackson looked spry, drew a lot of contact (9 FTs, is that legal?) Longtime Jamari McDowell fan here, however I don’t think he’s gonna play much.

This is going to be a project, and it’s so many new guys, all playing different roles from where they were before. It’ll come together. Basketball is the great social experiment. The creative ability of Peterson is going to create a lot of space and opportunity. I’m praying a few guys make defenders pay thanks to the divided attention DP can create every single offensive play. Whew!

This guy is going until he drops. The season cannot come soon enough.