There are some hardwood memories etched into Darrin Peterson’s psyche. Stephen Curry’s iconic 54-point masterclass at Madison Square Garden, check. LeBron James’ crush on Andre Iguodala is definitely there. Kobe Bryant’s last game against the Jazz is automatic. But it was watching Kyrie Irving’s infamous layup in the 2016 NBA Finals while on a cruise with his family that the now 17-year-old phenom said. “I have to get there.”
Darrin Peterson’s game is much more polished than your average high school senior. The No. 3 player in the Class of 2025 is clean three-tier scorer. Come with the adidas 3SSB, NBPA Top 100 camp guys and his Huntington Prep teammates. They will tell you what is good.
With offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and Baylor, just to name a few of the heavy hitters, there’s a reason Peterson is widely considered one of the top recruits in his class.
But before he won gold with Team USA at the 2023 FIBA U16 Americas Championship and made buckets in front of James Harden in Italy last June, Darrin Peterson’s connection to the game was fostered in his own backyard in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. .
Basketballs wrapped in plastic bags, cones scattered around, a basketball hoop anchored in liquid cement, and a well-used speed ladder; Darin Peterson and his pop band spent hours practicing outside growing up.
“That’s where it all started,” says Darin. “What he was saying started to make sense. Because you know, you feel like your dad is just messing with you, and you don’t always want to understand it. But after some time I began to understand what he was saying. I started seeing it in games and stuff.”
Darrin’s father, former Akron guard Darryl Peterson II, was invested in helping his son pursue his dreams from day one. And as a huge Kobe fan, Darryl shared the same meticulous quest for perfection in the bunkhouse. For as long as he can remember, Darin has been shooting the ball off the glass left and right, finishing through contact. Now he’s at the gym three to four times a week, doing laps in swimming pools and running hills.
“Focus has been the most important thing to me since I was a kid,” Darrin says of what he learned from his dad. “When you find something you want to be good at, you have to really buy in and you have to sacrifice. That is the main thing. You have to make sacrifices, hang out with your friends, and stay up all night playing the game. (There are) certain things you have to sacrifice if you want to be great at something.”
Big doesn’t even begin to get it all.
The 6’5 consensus five-star recruit plays the game with effortless grace. One-dribble pull-ups in the mid lane, downfield. Tomahawks in transition are paired with the smoothest sizes. Jump steps through the lane, close the flaps and travel side by side; No matter where he stands, the ball always seems to find the net. He has been heralded as the best scorer in the country, but that belief was not always so widespread.
“The knock was he’s getting 30 against guys that aren’t really good,” Darrin says.
During his sophomore year at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Peterson averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 assists a night. But he longed for more. He wanted to be surrounded by and play against like-minded players who shared his League aspirations. He wanted to be pushed. He wanted to play his best. So he transferred to Huntington Prep.
“I just wanted to be able to go to a school where I played against the competition and showed that I really am. It was something I wanted to show I could play against the top guys,” Darin tells SLAM. “I just wanted to play against people who were going to make it difficult for me every night.”
Despite dealing with a nagging injury all season, Darrin proved that those 30 caps weren’t reserved for his hometown, anyone in the US could get them. He dropped 31, 10 boards and seven assists against the Kentucky Christian Knights to open the season in November. He then went head-to-head with Jalil Bethea and Archbishop Wood and hung another 31-point performance with four steals and three blocks.
As Darrin filled it in from various states, he looked at his last eight major Division 1 programs. But midway through the AAU spring season, he decided to reopen his recruitment. At the end of April, he informed everyone that it was open season.
As an influx of additional coaches became interested, Darrin was putting his game on international notice. Averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game with the USAB Junior National Team in 2023, Darin lit up Italy at adidas Eurocamp. That first week of June overseas served as another measuring stick as the combo guard played alongside and against five-star classmates in his class and came away from the week with first-team honors.
“Now I feel like I have to outdo everyone. I already felt that way, but now I’m taking it to the extreme,” Darin tells SLAM. “Every day I play like it’s the last day I’m on the court. So how hard do I go every day? I’m just trying to get ready for college and the NBA.”
Now, back in the offseason, Darry says he’s trying to play point guard after hearing from multiple NBA scouts and college coaches that “on the ball is probably where I can be the most to have success in playing. The NBA at the next level.” At 6’5, with otherworldly athleticism that emerged just a few years ago, he said, he relied on the same yardage drills with his spins to bring the ball up the field and initiate the offense more often.
He’s not the only one who has realized his potential as a crime boss. Former Sixth Man of the Year and NBA champion Jason Terry also recognized it.
With his team’s coach out in Eurocamp, The Jet has been giving Darrin as many reps as possible at the point. Sometimes she wondered if Darrin existed too passive as the five-star guard worked through the balance of creating others while getting his own. Just because he ran the point didn’t mean he couldn’t be a point guard, Terry told him.
When Darin finally makes his college choice, that lucky program will get one of the hungriest recruits in his class. With the goal shut down and the sack growing as a reliever, it’s the defensive side of the ball where Darin knows he’ll make his mark. Put all three together and you have a sure lock for the League.
“I would say just a great guy on and off the court. I want to see everybody eat,” Darin tells SLAM. “There’s going to be nights where I’m probably not going to be the best player on the court. I’m willing to not score points and do whatever it takes to win. That’s my kind of guy. Off the court, I am first and foremost a scientist. So they don’t have to worry about it and (I’m) just a winner. So that’s a big thing for me that we’re getting a winner, a hard worker and someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get better and win.”
Portraits by Christian Quezada.
