CJ McCollum shows love to 1st ever Adidas high school NIL athlete
On Friday, the sports apparel brand Adidas announced the signing of high school basketball star Darryn Peterson, and New Orleans Pelicans superstar CJ McCollum is ecstatic about it. McCollum retweeted ESPN reporter Nick DePaula's X post announcing the signing, saying:
"Love to see it. #330 !!"
Still an amateur, Peterson, the first ever high schooler to have an endorsement deal with Adidas, was signed to a name, image and likeness (NIL) contract.
DePaula reported that Peterson's NIL deal is a multi-year one, which means he might get a signature shoe of his own once he joins the NBA.
Who is Darryn Peterson, the player CJ McCollum is rooting for?
Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Canton, Ohio, already put up an explosion during his freshman year at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
Despite missing a few games to start the 2021-2022 season due to a foot injury, Peterson still averaged 26.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game as he led CVCA to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division 2 title game.
Peterson played more of a pure scorer in his second year at CVCA, finishing with an average of 31 points per game alongside 9.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and a whopping 2.8 steals per outing. He once again led CVCA to the title game.
The eye-popping numbers earned Peterson a spot in Team USA's lineup for the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship, where the team won gold.
After his first national team stint, Peterson announced that he was transferring to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia.
The school's relative proximity to colleges under the Atlantic Coast Conference makes it a good place for Peterson to transfer to if he wants to be in a college basketball powerhouse.
Peterson is currently listed as a five-star prospect for the college freshman class of 2025 and is eligible to declare as early as the 2026 NBA draft.
CJ McCollum still out for Pelicans-Clippers game
Meanwhile, CJ McCollum remains out for the New Orleans Pelicans in their NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
McCollum is still recovering from a collapsed lung, but the good news is he returned to practice on Tuesday, just before the New Orleans Pelicans' last homestand against the Sacramento Kings.
The Pelicans' NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Clippers kickstarted a three-game regular season road trip.