With Kansas being eliminated in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, the attention now shifts to the NBA Draft for star freshman Darryn Peterson. Peterson is expected to be no worse than a top-two pick in the upcoming draft, but former NBA player Jeff Teague seemed to suggest that the Peterson hype isn’t all what it appears to be.
During a recent episode of the ‘Club 52 Podcast,’ Jeff Teague gave his opinion that Darryn Peterson is no better than undrafted Portland Trail Blazers rookie Caleb Love, an opinion that is sure to turn quite a few heads.
“This ain’t no disrespect, and I think Darryn Peterson is a heck of a player. I think he’s cold. But I think I can find another two-guard, this is no disrespect, but Caleb Love can give me the same thing as Darryn Peterson,” Teague said “Not the same thing, Darryn Peterson can get you 25 a game, but Caleb Love can give me 15-16.”
Teague went on to say that he wasn’t sure if Darryn Peterson is even a better NBA Draft prospect than someone like Bennedict Mathurin is. And before that, Teague also suggested that he would draft Duke’s Cameron Boozer over Peterson.
Teague is right in that Caleb Love has had an incredible rookie season with the Blazers after going undrafted and signing a two-way contract. Love has appeared in 45 games as a rookie, including one start, at a little over 22 minutes per game. He’s averaging 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists with splits of 39 percent shooting from the field, 32.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 73.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Love projects as maybe a strong scoring guard off some team’s bench as far his NBA ceiling, while draft experts see Peterson as a franchise cornerstone type of player. Only time will tell though how Peterson pans out in the NBA.
