One of the biggest questions heading into this NBA draft cycle is who will be the number one overall pick. There are several candidates for the distinction, including BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson.
One of the major talking points regarding Peterson is his perceived lack of availability at times, as well as the fact that his shooting percentages have taken a hit as the season has worn on.
Still, one NBA scout believes that the star had already separated himself from the group.
“Darryn was already kind of in a world of his own,” said the scout, per CJ Moore of The Athletic. “Then the conversation was, AJ’s probably (number) two, or maybe Boozer, but Darryn was in a different field.”
The scout also hit back at some of the narratives surrounding Peterson and his perceived lack of competitiveness.
“Everything that’s going on with Darryn not playing well and not shooting it well during this time, it is definitely leaning people into AJ at one is a real conversation,” the scout said. “AJ, what he’s been doing at his size, is different. But all this stuff that now is being made public that we knew, a lot of people in the media had said he doesn’t love the game, he’s not competitive and that other bulls—, we knew was all crap. But who goes No. 1 is a conversation now.”
Who goes number one might depend heavily on which team gets the top pick in the draft and what their needs are. Teams looking for a point guard who fits the “scoring guard” archetype of the best players at the position in the league today would certainly be hard-pressed to pass up on Peterson.
