Darryn Peterson Is the Smoothest Player in the Class of 2025

There are a few hardwood memories etched into Darryn Peterson's psyche. Stephen Curry's 54-point class at Madison Square Garden, check. LeBron James' block to chase down Andre Iguodala is spot on. Kobe Bryant's last game against the Jazz is a coincidence. But it was watching Kyrie Irving's setback in the 2016 NBA Finals while on a trip with his family that had the now 17-year-old wonder saying, “I've got to get there.”

Darryn Peterson's game is more polished than a high school senior. The No. 3 player in the Class of 2025 is a innocent who scored three goals. Go check out the adidas 3SSB, the guys who came out of the NBPA Top 100 Camp and their Huntington Prep teammates. They will tell you the best.

With offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and Baylor–just to name a few heavy hitters–there's reason Peterson is widely considered one of the most heralded recruits in his class.

But before he won Gold with Team USA at the 2023 FIBA ​​U16 Americas tournament and was throwing buckets in front of James Harden in Italy last June, Darryn Peterson's connection to the game was fueled in his backyard in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. .

Basketballs wrapped in plastic bags, scattered cones, a basketball hoop anchored in liquid cement and a well-used speed ladder; Darryn Peterson and his pops would train for hours without growing up.

“That's where it started,” said Darryn. “The things he was saying started to make sense. Cause you know, you feel like your Father just does things for you, you don't want to understand it all the time. But after a while, I started to understand what he was saying. I started to see it in sports and other things.”

Darryn's father, former Akron guard Darryl Peterson II, was invested in helping his son achieve his dreams from day one. And as a huge Kobe fan, Darryl shared the same meticulous search for collective perfection. For as long as he can remember, Darryn has been putting the ball left and right on the glass while making contact. Now, he's in the gym three to four times a week, traversing pools on protective slides and running hills.

“Focus has been a key thing for me since I was a teenager,” Darryn said of what he learned from his father. “If you find something you want to get right, you have to buy it and you have to make sacrifices. That is the main thing. You have to sacrifice yourself, hang out with your friends and stay up all night playing the game. [There’s] certain things you have to sacrifice if you want to get better at something.”

Big doesn't even begin to put things into perspective.

The 6'5 five-star recruit plays the game with effortless finesse. One pull up in the middle, down. Tomahawks in transition paired with smooth size-ups. Jump on the track, the bark fades and the side roads; no matter where you stand, the ball always finds the net. He was once regarded as the best goal scorer in the country, but that belief did not always spread.

Darryn says: “What really helped me was, 'You're going to face 30 really bad guys.'

In his sophomore year at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Peterson posted 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 assists per night. But he longed for something more. He wanted to be surrounded and play with like-minded players who shared his aspirations for the League. He wanted to be pushed. He wanted to play the best. So he transferred to Huntington Prep.

“I wanted to go to the school where I played and face competition and show that I really am.” That was something I wanted to show, that I can play with the top guys,” Darryn told SLAM. “I wanted to play with people who would make it difficult for me every night.”

Despite dealing with constant injuries throughout the season, Darryn proved that those 30 pieces were reserved for his hometown, and anyone in the US of A can get them. He dropped 31, 10 boards and seven assists against the Kentucky Christian Knights to open the season in November. He then faced Jalil Bethea and Archbishop Wood and posted another 31-point game to go along with four steals and three blocks.

While Darryn was pouring in from all over the state, he was looking at his last eight major Division 1 programs. But in the middle of the spring AAU circuit, he decided to open up his recruitment. At the end of April, he informed everyone that it was open season.

As more and more coaches began to inquire, Darryn was putting his game on international notice. After averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game with the USAB Junior National Team in 2023, Darryn was lighting up Italy at adidas Eurocamp. That first week of June overseas served as another measuring stick as the combo guard played alongside five-star teammates in his class and left the week with first-team honors.

“Now I feel like I have to get everyone out. “I used to feel that way, but now I'm doing it to the extreme,” Darryn told SLAM. “Every day I play as if it's the last time every time I'm on the field. So, how hard I go every day. I'm just trying to get ready for college and the NBA.”

Now that he's back from summer camp, Darryn says he's been trying to play point guard after hearing from many NBA scouts and college coaches that “in football that's probably where I can have the most success playing.” the NBA at the next level.” At 6'5 an athlete who has only come to the fore in the last few years – in his own words – he's relied on those backside drills for his pop as he brings the ball up the court and initiates the offense more often.

He is not the only one who knows his power as a criminal. Former Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Champion Jason Terry has seen it too.

As his team's coach at Eurocamp, Jet was giving Darryn as many reps as possible. Sometimes he thought Darryn was there again he's quiet as the five-star guard works on the balance of setting up others while getting his own. Just because he was a point guard, doesn't mean he can't be a point guard, Terry said.

When Darryn finally chooses colleges, that lucky program will be getting one of the hungriest recruits in his class. With key scoring and a burgeoning sack as an assist, it's on the defensive side of the ball where Darryn knows he'll make his mark. Combine all three and you've got a surefire lock for the League.

“I would say he's just a good guy, on and off the court. I want to see everyone eat,” Darryn told SLAM. “There are going to be nights where I'm probably not going to be the best player on the field. I'm determined not to score and do everything I can to win. That's my type. Off the court, I am an academic first. So, they won't have to worry about that, either [I’m] just a winner. So it's a big thing for me that we get a winner, who works hard and is willing to do whatever it takes to get better and win.”

Photos by Christian Quezada.