SALT LAKE CITY — Two games into Summer League is way too early to talk about greatness. Games in July are a notoriously terrible way to project a career — Stephen Curry struggled in Summer League. Greg Ostertag owned Tim Duncan head-to-head in July.
But it’s hard to watch Darryn Peterson’s first two games in the Salt Lake City Summer League and not think he can be truly special.
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Monday night, in a game hyped as No. 2 pick Peterson against No. 3 pick Carlos Boozer, it was Peterson who stole the show with 25 points and 12 assists (to just two turnovers). He was explosive, showed off his shooting range, and his decision-making was way beyond his years.
“What is greatness to me? I think it’s just kind of being one-of-one,” Peterson said. “I would say to achieve greatness, definitely something I want to try to achieve. Far away from it now, so early in my career — it’s Summer League — but it’s something I wanted to try to achieve in my career.”
Peterson puts on a show
Jazz fans showed up and were loud — this is a fan base that has needed a team and a player they can rally behind and believe in. It’s been two games, but the fans are all in.
Peterson gave those fans what they wanted from the opening tip Monday. He started 3-of-3 with nine points in the game’s first four minutes, hitting a 3-pointer in there, getting to the line and showing some creative shot-making with a scoop layup.
What was more impressive than his scoring was his playmaking. An aggressive Memphis defense blitzed him with doubles off nearly every pick, but Peterson remained calm in the face of pressure, and either found his space to get off a shot or passed to the open man.
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“He’s able to play at the pace the game calls for,” Jazz Summer League head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “He’s going to be closely guarded and doubled, probably a lot of his career, and for a young guy to be able to play at the pace the game calls for, is a very unique skill.
“And he’s got a great ability to stay neutral, whether a guy is pressuring him full court, whether he’s being trapped, whether it’s the first possession of the first quarter, the last possession of the fourth quarter, he stays pretty present in the moment.”
Putting in the work
The best reason for Jazz fans to be optimistic is that Peterson appears to have the work ethic of the greats.
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“I tell you what, he’s a really hungry learner. He’s watching tape with Coach [Will] Hardy. he wants to be great,” Wojciechowski said.
“First and foremost, I think it’s super cool that he’s willing to watch film with me, something that I didn’t do at Kansas was watch with my head coach, so that’s huge for me,” Peterson said. “And then, yeah, we just broke it down.”
He said Hardy not only showed him basketball, but they dove into film of former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, the nine-time Pro Bowler and Defensive Player of the Year. The topic was being aware of what is happening on the court and being light on his feet.
That Peterson is absorbing this at Summer League is a very positive sign.
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“His scoring, I think, jumps off the page, but when you watch the game back, there’s a lot of different winning plays that he has his fingerprints on,” Wojciechowski said. “His scoring is what gets the most attention, but he’s gotten better defensively. He gets his hand on balls, he ends up being in the right spot at the right moments and key moments.”
Boozer has good night
Cameron Boozer did not disappoint: 18 points, including 4-of-5 from 3, plus seven boards. It’s easy to see how he will plug into the Grizzlies’ front line and help them from Day 1.
Also for the Grizzlies, Cedric Coward impressed with 23 points, while also defending Peterson at points, and he had three blocks. Don’t bet on seeing a lot of him when the Summer League shifts to Las Vegas, he is too good for this.
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But Monday was Peterson’s night. He looks like something special.
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