Darryn Peterson & Prolific Prep
Darryn Peterson makes a claim for the throne.
Racking up a statline of 33 points (11-17 FG), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals, Peterson showed out on both ends in a marquee matchup upset of Prolific Prep over Columbus against fellow Top-3 2026 NBA Draft prospect, Cameron Boozer, who tallied 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
Darryn Peterson flashed the smooth stroke shotmaking that’s made scouts wonder if he’ll have as much of a case for the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as Cameron Boozer or A.J. Dybantsa of Utah Prep.
On the majority of his shots, the net doesn’t even move.
Darryn’s exploring depths of Swish Theory previously unseen.
Against Columbus, DP stayed locked in attack mode, scoring at will on one end and forcing turnovers on the other.
Defensive instincts, active hands, straight up shot contests, well-timed digs, jumping pass steals, blocks leading to 4pt swings, stampede movement decisiveness, burst speed acceleration, tight handle ball control, smooth decelerating body control, playmaking vision when drawing extra defenders into the paint – Peterson proved he’s more than a tough shot swishing sniper.
Darryn baited defenders into the air with mature moves that tricked opponents to leave their feet for easy trips to the pinstripe in the first quarter, ending the period with a wild buzzer-beating pull-up 3pt runner off the backboard to tease the tough shotmaking to come.
Peterson willed his team on the offensive end to stay in it, scoring 16 of the team’s first 18 points.
Showing two-way feel, blocking a shot from behind as the driver gets by him, digging in on the perimeter for a steal to force a turnover and fast break bucket.
Winters Grady dives for the loose ball and finds Peterson, who stays pushing the pace off turnovers, sprinting into the start/stop body control hesi and a turnaround fade over the outstretched Cam Boozer. Slowing it down in the halfcourt the following play, Darryn drills a FLOATA through bump-and-finish contact after initiating Double Drag P&R, forcing Columbus to take a timeout to try to slow his momentum.
Continuing the 2nd quarter run, Peterson continues to show off his defensive instincts going straight up for another block, moving his feet to contain the spin move and force a turnover with his teammate’s help defense, grabbing the loose ball and taking it the other way for another tough middy pull-up in traffic off the clean in-and-out dribble.
21 PTS in the first half for Darryn off the smooth shooting stroke we all came to see: swishing the pull-up triple against the switch, Columbus defense looking half a step slow in rotations, giving Peterson all the room he needs to rise and fire.
Darryn didn’t force it even though he had the hot hand. When Peterson draws the triple(!) team here as Niko slips the screen in P&R, Darryn drives into the paint and quickly finds arguably the best 3pt shooter on the floor with a jump-pass 3pt kickout, Winters Grady for the catch-and-shoot triple.
Darryn Peterson contests a shot, leaks out off the miss, and has the opportunity for a fast break layup; but, instead of forcing a contested shot, possibly hearing Cam Boozer’s footsteps, he again hunts for a better shot for the team with the open corner three for splashy shooter Winters Grady, who smartly ran to the corner in transition.
Peterson continues flashing two-way feel, making plays with active hands and disrupting defensive instincts with another full-extension block and jump-pass steal, pushing the pace downhill to draw fouls and find open teammates on kickouts and lookahead dimes.
Incredible soft touch finishing through traffic on the putback and downhill drive, with impressive speed control, able to accelerate with nitro burst on a whim and stop on a dime to send the defender flying and manipulate movements to get a shot up.
Watch Darryn’s movements, knowing he’s going to reverse into a drive as soon as he catches the ball.
Next play, Niko slips the screen, Peeterson finishes the up-and-under hanging-in-the-air FLOATA through FOUR defenders!
Thought Darryn was done splashing deep jumpers without hitting the rim? Think again. Can’t leave him any space, yet Columbus practically leaves him wide open on this rotation.
Nothing but net. Peterson looks at the rim and sees and ocean. The Hot Hand Theory is in full effect in this one.
Niko Bundalo
Prolific’s Niko Bundalo dominated the glass with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 steal in this high school showdown on FAU’s court, splashing in a corner three, driving downhill, bringing active hands for deflections and a head up for loose balls.
Niko showed good driving ability on the perimeter, able to slink by the strong defender Cayden Boozer with a patient stutter rip, lefty dribble drive into 3 defenders into the paint, and soft touch push shot FLOATA over an extended Cam Boozer.
Niko added in a 4pt swing sequence, forcing a turnover at point of attack, finishing cleanly in transition.
Niko impressed with his handle and footwork as a driver for his size, drawing a smaller matchup switch after popping out in Double Drag and rescreening for his teammate, gliding to the rim for the eurostep drive and putback.
Cameron Boozer & Columbus
Cameron Boozer’s strong athleticism stayed on display, showing off his rebounding instincts by timing up the powerful putback slam through traffic. Boozer has great footwork and body control, able to spin through defenders going downhill.
Jaxon Richardson, son of NBA Legend J-Rich, showed off his play-finishing bounce and athleticism running the floor, throwing down back-to-back alley-oop lobs, and crashing the glass for a putback.
Cam Boozer continues to show incredible playmaking with a grab-and-go mentality, always looking ahead to transition outlets. Boozer initiates these two fast breaks off his rebounds, quickly pushing the ball up, even finding Jaxon himself for the frontcourt lob connection.
Cayden Boozer made winning plays, hitting a clean C&S 3pt jumper on the wing and in the corner, finding shooters with pristine playmaking vision as the traditional point guard, with rebounding instincts finding the offensive board.
Marcellous “Cello” Jackson showed good two-way feel and soft touch in a nice sequence where Cello popped up for a steal on the perimeter, pushed the pace in transition, and decelerated into an AND1 ceiling-scraping FLOATA.
Columbus’ Caleb Gaskins, transfer from Montverde, showed tough shot making skills attacking closeouts, drilling jumpers over Peterson’s contests, stepping in for middy pull-ups off the playmaking from the Boozer twins. Gaskins tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block.
Baseline views from CCNN:
https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859042150832574842?s=46
https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859040722797863360?s=46
https://twitter.com/ccnnlive/status/1859035253299683426?s=46
With over 500 days for these top prospect high school seniors to make their mark before the 2026 NBA Draft, who will wear the crown?
Film via The Grind Session
Stats via Maxpreps
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