Freshman Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball player Darryn Peterson already has plenty of fans in Lawrence.
One of his biggest supporters is KU athletic director Travis Goff, who has seen Peterson firsthand on numerous occasions since the highly touted guard’s arrival on campus in June.
According to Goff, Peterson has already built a close relationship with KU assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, who joined head coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks staff in May after years of coaching in the NBA.
Goff talked about the importance of adding Vaughn to Self’s coaching staff on Wednesday.
The Jayhawks AD likes the idea of “bringing Jacque and Bill (together).” Goff credited Self for “having the awareness — whatever you call it, the humility or whichever phrase you might want to use — for him to say, ‘You know what ... I’ve never worked a day with Jacque Vaughn,’ (but) he’s a Jayhawk.”
It’s true that Self did not coach Vaughn, who was a star player at KU for former head coach Roy Williams, who preceded Self in the role.
Goff continued: ”Bill and Jacque do not know each other very well. They’re not in the same family, so to speak. I think that was really cool acknowledgment on Bill’s part: ‘I’ve never worked with him and I don’t know how he operates, but that’s a guy who cares about the place and has a different lens and perspective.’ It’s added some quiet confidence.”
Goff also noted how well Vaughn has acclimated to working alongside Self.
“He’s not a guy that comes in and starts pounding tables,” Goff said of Vaughn. “He’s learning. He knows where his shortcomings are. He has not coached college basketball. He doesn’t know the recruiting environment near to the extent of a long-term college coach. … He knows he’s not going try and be some dominant voice — he’s going to absorb.”
Goff said Vaughn has been working closely with Peterson. The first-year Jayhawks guard is expected to contend for being No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
“I’ve been to three or four (workouts),” Goff said, “and every time Darryn Peterson has stuck around for added work… it’s Darryn and Jacque, Darryn and Jacque one-on-one after every one of those sessions.
“You can just see the mutual connection of Darryn going, ‘That dude has done this workout or this drill with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.’
“I literally sit there and watch it, like I can blur my eyes and think, ‘That’s Jacque with Kyrie or Jacque with Kevin or combination of Jacque with Kyrie and Kevin.’ It’s just cool to see that. Think about the guy that’s seen the very best in the game and managed their growth. He’s bringing that to KU.”