Recruiting Report: Kolton Peterson (2017)

<p><strong>Kolton Peterson </strong>has a take on scoring that just may provide some insight into how he’s been able to do so much of it during the first two years of his high school basketball career.</p> <p>“Honestly, I think I score more if I get guarded heavier, because I feel like I need to do more,” Peterson said. “Obviously, you don’t want to force anything up, but I like having a guy in my face and guarding me like that.”</p> <p>Those one-on-one battles have often gone the way of Peterson, who averaged 23 points per game as a sophomore at Lakewood last season -- the fourth-highest average in the state and tops for an underclassman.</p> <p>The 6-foot-3 guard parlayed that effort into a sizzling summer, guiding the Shining Stars to a 15-3 record during tournaments in Nebraska, California and Kansas while making 30-point games a regular occurrence.<br /> Colleges took notice. Air Force offered Peterson early this month.</p> <p>“It was definitely an honor,” he said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play Division I basketball. I remember getting teary eyed when the Air Force coach offered me over the phone. I was like all the hard work -- and I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me -- that got me to this point had paid off. I just feel honored and blessed.”</p> <p>Peterson also received heavy interest from Missouri Valley Conference member Southern Illinois after starring at the tournament in Kansas.  </p> <p>“Southern Illinois hit me up after the tournament and said they really liked me,” he said. “They said they were ready to take my commitment when I was ready to commit.”</p> <p>More offers should certainly be on there way for Peterson, who’s prolific scoring ability, he says, comes in part from his father, Chris Peterson. The elder Peterson was a 25-point per game scorer during his senior year of high school at Jefferson and then went on to play college ball at Creighton during the Larry Bird era of the late 1970s early 1980s.</p> <p>“He could score the ball pretty well too,” Peterson said of his father, who is also his AAU coach with the Shining Stars, “so maybe I got it from him.”<br /> Peterson is an electric shooter, who also has a great knack for driving to the basket, keeping defenders on his hip and finishing through contact. He’s developed greatly as a ball-handler while being told by some coaches that he could project as a point guard at the next level.</p> <p>Peterson said his big focus now is proving that he’s capable of defending guards with elite athleticism on the perimeter.</p> <p>“I really focused on my defense this summer and tried to a big effort on that,” he said. “I worked on my strength and quickness a lot. I know that you have to be able to defend at a high level in Division I.”</p> <p>Scoring doesn&#39;t hurt either. Here&#39;s guessing Peterson will be doing plenty more of it during his last two years of high school -- and beyond.</p>