Peter explains that if a werewolf has blue eyes, it's because they have taken an innocent life. When Jackson becomes a werewolf in season 2, his eyes are also blue.
In this episode, young Peter is shown to have golden eyes (which, as this episode explains, means that he hadn't killed anyone yet). While he was clearly a manipulative sociopath, he may not have been a murderer until after the fire.
The fact that Derek played basketball in high school may be a reference to the original Teen Wolf, in which that was the main sport.
Madison McLaughlin (Paige) is yet another Arrowverse alum to appear in Teen Wolf; she played Evelyn Sharpe/Artemis in Arrow.