An off-ball scoring savant with elite defensive upside and flashes of on-ball brilliance. EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY: I have a tweet where I say Darryn Peterson is the next Kobe Bryant in my never ending search for the next one. While that tweet was made in jest, there was some hope sprinkled in the joke. Coming out of Prolific Prep last year Darryn Peterson’s film presented as the final form of shooting guard prospects. He was a relentless and efficient scorer who showed true 3-Level scoring, sustained moments of playmaking, and ridiculous 2-Way production. As the season progressed we saw Darryn miss time with injury and as he recovered some flaws in his game were revealed. He wasn’t the relentless 3-level scorer we had seen, he was still a scoring marvel just not to the level he had teased. Every 20 point half was met with 5 minute 2nd half’s, every 5/8 3P game was met with a 2/7 from 2P game. Questions regarding his playmaking became legitimate, and while I think the truth falls in between the film we saw this past year vs senior year in high school. I for one found myself a tad disappointed when reviewing his PnR film. Through it all Darryn Peterson displayed his talent nightly and showed how much attention his offensive skillset is going to require. If his on ball skillset tracks back to what we saw in high school, there’s a world where this is a player who leads the league in scoring. Even if he’s not able to reach those heights, his current skillset still presents as a high-level contributor to winning basketball. OFFENSIVE_EVALUATION: - Excellent footwork going right and left off the catch, understands Boom 1-2 footwork really well. - Handle isn’t broken, but he opens his body up off PnRs so much it takes away passing and driving angles. - Good, not great, feel. Clearly not selfish. Can be seen actively trying to make the right play, but can get caught taking time to dissect a defense and miss reads (see handle above). - For a scoring guard, he tends to float a bit too much, needs to work on balancing taking over and letting the game come to him. - Loves the bump middy going right, can settle for it at times when he has a step on defenders. - Relocates very well, slides to corner with ball-handlers often and lifts to help drivers have a passing outlet - Sets up hesi going left a lot, seems more comfortable bursting off of move. DEFENSIVE_EVALUATION: - Elite feel off the ball, active in passing lanes and always looking for the ball when in next-man help and a ball-handler turns his back. - Offers some RimPro as a guard. Shows his athleticism when given the opportunity to load up and explode. - Moves his feet well on the ball, can get moved at times by more physical drivers. Overall does a good job of funneling to RimPro. - Screen navigation needs some work, can get caught trying to go under when chasing and dies a tad too often. - Seems to communicate well on film, shows activity calling out switches and never seems to shy away from matchups.