If you ask the players or the coaches, I’m sure they’ll say that winning the game is what they’re focused on. It’s the truth to them but here we love to debate who should be the number 1 pick and this matchup between the 2 most obvious prospects is what excites us draft watchers. Other prospects like Kansas big Sophomore Center Flory Bidunga, and BYU’s Richie Saunders, and Robert Wright III will also be on scouts radar on Saturday. The 6’10” 235 Bidunga averaging over 14 PPG and 9 RPG is likely to be a lottery pick himself. Lets get into the consensus top 2 though.
AJ Dybantsa: There isn’t as much general consensus as last year as to who should be the #1 pick as there was last year with Cooper Flagg. Flagg just turned 19 and scored 49 points last game for the Dallas Mavericks so pundits got it right. Dybantsa isn’t the same player as Flagg but he is another explosive jumbo wing who has met the hype coming out of high school. The tools and the production are there at this level so it’s easier for scouts and even casual fans to see why he is so highly touted. Some potential picks have the obvious tools but need a lot more polish.
Risks for Dybantsa: This is a preview of a more in depth category we go into for our Pro subscribers.
Dybantsa produces now and his long-term potential is probably the highest in the class. Also the NBA has become more position-less in recent years as more variability is expected from players. However, there is a history of “tweeners” who struggle to find their role in the NBA. Dybantsa should continue add strength but he’s not quite big enough yet to bang inside with a lot of strong PFs and he needs to tighten his dribble and his perimeter shot to be a primary scorer at SF. This is being overly critical of a young, superb player but a lot is expected of him.
For more depth on him, please visit his profile on our rankings page and subscribe to our Pro level subscription.
Darryn Peterson:
Peterson is a special player for Kansas and his legendary coach Bill Self has called him the best guard he’s ever recruited. He also just turned 19 and like He seems to easily beat his man off the dribble, has good size and strength for a guard at 6’6″ 205lbs, and can really shoot. He’s a highly efficient shooter already with a current 49.3 FG % on 42% from 3 and 82% from FT. for over 21 PPG. He has a smoothness to his game that cause many to compare him to Kobe Bryant.
He currently just barely holds our top spot over Dybantsa for one main reason and that is role clarity. That might not make sense since we dont know what the draft order is yet but bear with us. His archetype as a primary scorer is a lot rarer in the NBA than that of the jumbo wing. There’s maybe 10-12 elite scoring guards in the league. His handle is good but its clear he’s a scoring guard and not a primary distributor. Most of the risk with him is if a team tries to use him a big PG. His skillset is easily scalable to the NBA.
For more depth on him, please visit his profile on our rankings page and subscribe to our Pro level subscription.
Neither Dybantsa nor Peterson carry much risk and more importantly, it’s exciting to see them go against each other. Kansas hasn’t struggled, but missing him for a few games has been a contributing factor in Kansas’ 5 losses so far. Let’s see what happens!
Peterson has missed several games this season due to injury but it shouldn’t be anything that would be catastrophic for his long-term success.