The race to the number-one pick in the NBA Draft has come down to the two players we all knew it would. Bumping shoulders as the pair turns the final corner, BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Kansas' Darryn Peterson are sprinting down the final stretch.
But has this neck-and-neck contest already been decided earlier this winter?
Darryn Peterson is perhaps the most talented and tantalizing guard prospect to hit the NBA Draft since Kyrie Irving in 2011. A natural scorer with a liquid jump shot and talent unparalleled at his position, consensus holds that Peterson is the most likely player to leap AJ Dybantsa for the number-one overall spot, assuming rumors that the Wizards prefer Boozer to Peterson are overblown.
Darryn Peterson would be the first overall pick in nearly any draft class -- excluding the Wembanyama year, of course -- and would be projected first across the board if it weren't for the BYU standout AJ Dybantsa gathering buzz while dragging the lifeless carcass of his BYU team up the hill of the Big 12 Conference. Mangled, damaged, and unrecognizable, Dybantsa managed to make Kevin Young's shredded depth chart competitive in the Big 12 tournament -- two wins and a tight contest with Houston are nothing to sneeze at -- and broke scoring records at nearly every turn.
He's a player who gets his teammates involved, elevates the floor of his squad, and possesses the frame, shooting touch, and basketball IQ necessary to have NBA scouts believing he could be a life-changing talent at the highest level.
But for those who watched Dybantsa and Peterson do battle on the court this season, you may be left wondering why Dybantsa is held in higher regard to the player who shined brightest in Allen Fieldhouse this winter.
Peterson's effortless talent was on full display in this one, dropping 18 points in just one 20-minute half and sitting out the entire second half as the Jayhawks rode their first-half offensive eruption to an 8-point win. Absolutely everything was going Kansas' way in the first half, and much of that was thanks to the momentum instigated by DP.
AJ Dybantsa only managed 17 points on 6-12 shooting in 34 minutes, compared to Peterson's 18 in 20 minutes of play.
Peterson sliced through the Cougs' interior defense to gently finish at the rim. He torched the perimeter with buttery-smooth jumpers. He found his open teammates in the corner. He poked and prodded on defense to the torment of the Cougars' frazzled offense. To top it all off, he annihilated the Coguars' morale with a poster slam over the outstretched arms of Keba Keita and Mihailo Boskovic.
Peterson has routinely put up stronger numbers than Dybantsa in the pair's countless head-to-head matchups between AAU and high school circuits, and after the two met in college, Peterson appeared to be the runaway favorite to come off the board first overall in the draft.
But the narrative shifted when Peterson's injury concerns and lack of playing time led many to fear over his competitive nature and willingness to put his team above himself.
The NBA Draft conversation has shifted and folded over on itself several times over, but as it stands, BYU's AJ Dybantsa appears to be the pick number one overall. Any rumors that the Utah Jazz are itching to trade up for Dybantsa must be overblown, because ending up with Peterson second overall is a very promising proposition after witnessing what he's capable of against his direct competition.
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