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Former CVCA star Darryn Peterson returns home to finish basketball career in Canton
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- Former CVCA star Darryn Peterson returns home to finish basketball career in Canton
It's going to take 2,477 miles to get there, but high school basketball sensation Darryn Peterson is coming home.
The 6-foot-5 guard and Canton native made a name for himself for two years at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy before heading off to Hunting Prep, W. Va., last season and Prolific Prep High School this year in California.
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As fate would have it, the Crew will come to the Canton Civic Center on Tuesday to take on St. Vincent-St. Mary in the final high school game of Peterson's career.
It's part of a tripleheader beginning at 5 p.m. when GlenOak faces Lutheran East. Jackson faces Buchtel in the second game and Prolific Prep and STVM conclude festivities in the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic .
Former CVCA great and current Prolific Prep senior Darryn Peterson returns to his hometown of Canton to play St. Vincent-St. Mary in his final high school game.
The Play-By-play has featured 139 future NBA players since 2000. LeBron James , Kobe Bryant and Anthony Davis are among the alumni.
"It's special to come home and play in the city where I grew up," Peterson said in a phone interview. "Playing one more time in Canton is a great feeling for me, my family and my friends."
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Kansas signee Darryn Peterson is having a sensational senior season
The five-star Kansas signee isn't coming alone either as teammate Niko Bundalo, who previously played for Green and Western Reserve, will make the trip as well.
Peterson broke Gary Trent Jr.'s school record with 61 points and hit a game-winning 3-pointer with less than five seconds remaining in an 88-86 win over Utah Prep on Feb. 8.
He is averaging 33 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.2 blocks as he heads into his final prep game at home.
"It's great," Peterson said. "I started by CVCA and I originally thought I was going to play there all four years. I love CVCA. It was good as well in my development working on some things. I made a lot of friends there. Coach [Matt] Futch is somebody who has been around my family for a long time.
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"Now here in California, I think for the last year has been great so far. I've gotten the matchups I've wanted, and the support and guidance of Coach Ryan [Bernardi] has been great, so has the high school experience in general."
Student tickets are $20 online and $18 at the door for the tripleheader. All other tickets are $23 and $30. There are $73 courtside tickets as well that can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com/canton-playbyplay-classic-canton-ohio-02-18-2025/event/05006223964C1357 .
Former CVCA standout Darryn Peterson is no stranger to playing the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic.
Darryn Peterson is no stranger to the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic
This will be the sixth Play-By-Play Peterson has played.
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Ironically, he played STVM with CVCA in a Play-By-Play at Civic Arena while with CVCA on Feb. 18, 2023. The Fighting Irish won that game 62-58. He scored 28 and registered 10 rebounds.
Last year, he played Richmond Heights while with Hunting Prep and won 66-54. He had 26 points and was 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He also logged five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.
"[Playing STVM] is definitely a great way I want to end my high school," the McDonald's All-American said. "It's definitely the way I wanted to go out."
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Darryn Peterson hopes to follow footsteps of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant
