Kansas Basketball Great Quickly Forming Bond With Darryn Peterson

Kansas legend Jacque Vaughn is already building a strong bond with incoming freshman Darryn Peterson through one-on-one workouts.

Darryn Peterson dunks against St. Vincent-St. Mary in the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at Canton Memorial Civic Center. | Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bill Self hired former Kansas great Jacque Vaughn to the Jayhawks’ coaching staff in May.

The two-time All-American at KU gives the program a fresh perspective after 15 years in the NBA as both an assistant and head coach.

Vaughn has worked with superstars like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, and now he is mentoring KU’s biggest freshman star in recent history.

In a recent article by Jordan Guskey of The Topeka Capital-Journal, Athletic Director Travis Goff revealed that Vaughn is building a strong connection with freshman phenom Darryn Peterson.

"I’ve been able to pop by a few of the workouts, and what happens after the workouts is a handful of the guys stick around and work with one of the coaches," Goff said. "I’ve been to three or four, and every time Darryn Peterson has stuck around for added work."

"And it’s not Darryn and another guy and two coaches, it’s Darryn and Jacque, Darryn and Jacque, one-on-one after every one of those sessions," he added.

"And you can just see the mutual connection of Darryn going, ‘That dude’s done this workout, this drill, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.’"

As we’ve written in the past, no player is going to benefit more from having a former NBA head coach on the coaching staff than Peterson.

Vaughn’s extensive experience in the pros as a head and assistant coach will do wonders for a player projected to go No. 1 or 2 overall in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Peterson has the talent to be a star at the college level, but having someone like Vaughn in his corner could be what helps unlock his full potential.

The addition of Vaughn to KU’s coaching staff already appears to be working out.