Why a year with DP should have us better prepared for Tyran Stokes

One of the most popular questions I received while Kansas was waiting to see if top-ranked prospect Tyran Stokes would pick the Jayhawks, which he did on Tuesday, was an inquiry about whether KU learned anything from the Darryn Peterson experience. 

The short answer is yes. Bill Self, his KU coaching staff and even the Kansas administration learned plenty and they all have moved forward by applying some of those lessons to the future. 

The long answer is a little more complicated because, while both players were ranked No. 1 in their respective recruiting classes, Peterson and Stokes are not the same. 

Not the same player, not the same person, not the same in many ways. 

What they do have in common, though, is talent. And there’s not a coach in the country that would not have taken both of them had they been given the chance. 

That’s the on-the-court stuff. Talent. It drips off of both of them, and you don’t need to watch for longer than 5 minutes to see how good these guys are or come up with an idea of how big their impact will be. 

We saw it with Peterson when he was healthy and playing. And we’ll see more of it from Stokes, whom Self called “as versatile a youngster (as) I’ve ever recruited.” 

The question mentioned above, of course, was the result of the off-the-court stuff that plagued DP last season. Injuries, lingering speculation about his status and commitment, him not speaking to the media much and the role of his agent and family members in his availability. All of it created a murky picture of a guy who just wanted to play ball.

Maybe we’ll get more of that with Stokes, too. But if we do, KU having gone through it once should help everyone manage it much better the second time around. You can bet that there were conversations that took place and may even be clauses in any contracts that spell out exactly what happens if Stokes misses time for anything more than a run-of-the-mill, basketball-related injury. 

That’s playing it safe and being smart. And, ideally, neither KU nor Stokes will need to rely on it. 

I’m still convinced that Peterson would’ve played all 40 minutes of every game if his body would have allowed him to do so at the level he wanted and needed. And, although I don’t yet know him, I feel the same is true with Stokes. 

These guys are hoopers. It’s what they love to do and why they’ve become who they’ve become. 

Not too long ago, this fascination about their personalities, their sometimes-over-the-top self-promotion and whether they should be labeled this or that would have seemed a bit out of place.

Today, it’s the world we live in. 

I get that seeing a future KU player wear sunglasses inside Allen Fieldhouse or pass out trading cards to NBA Hall of Famers while announcing his college decision on national TV might elicit a certain type of response from many KU fans, as well as sports fans in general. 

But, like it or not, it’s all genuine. Or at least as much as it can be for an 18-year-old who has become the talk of the college basketball world. 

You know what else we learned during the whole DP saga? That none of the outside noise mattered to the guys on the inside. I did not hear one of Peterson's teammates say anything about him as a distraction or show any kind of frustration about his on-again-off-again existence.

And I'd bet good money that it will be that way with Stokes, too. You might not love the antics and the bravado and everything that comes with him, but young people tend to eat that up these days. Especially if the guy showing it is producing and winning. Stokes will do both.

I get that the money he’ll make for his 10 months at Kansas — reported to be in the $5-7M range — automatically makes people think certain things about Stokes and kids like him. 

But, again, it’s the world we now live in.

You have choices, of course. You can abandon the sport altogether and eliminate your frustration by simply refusing to follow it any longer. Some have and no one would blame you if that’s the route you choose to go. 

But if that’s your pick, you might regret missing what happens on the court. 

All the rest of it be damned; this kid can flat-out play basketball and should be a ton of fun to watch, just like Peterson was when he was out there. 

But don't take it from me. Take it from Self.

"(Tuesday) was a big day for our program, landing the consensus number one player in the 2026 class," Self said in the news release announcing Stokes' signing. "Tyran can score and he's a terrific rebounder. He’s powerful and can be a great facilitator, and maybe what he does best is pass the basketball. He’s had far more exposure to basketball than most kids his age and will come in here with the ability to live up to the lofty expectations that will be placed on him by others."

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