On Tuesday, Kansas ended No. 2 Iowa State's undefeated streak with an 84-63 win. It marked a turning point for the Jayhawks and could foresee what is ahead.
After the game, Kansas head coach Bill Self spoke about national championship aspirations, particularly with Darryn Peterson in the mix, per ESPN.
“This is more what I envisioned,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “We've got an elite player — we got an elite scorer — and even tonight, when [Peterson] went to get his own, he can do some things other guys can't do. But the thing is the other guys are good players. We don't need to defer to him. I don't know that we've found that balance yet. But tonight was the closest thing to it.”
Peterson, 18, is a freshman guard. He scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Peterson is averaging 21.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He is a native of Canton, Ohio and attended Napa Christian HS.
In his senior year, he was named the Naismith Trophy High School Player of the Year and received McDonald’s All-American honors. Additionally, Peterson was ranked No. 1 by 24/7 Sports and On3 Sports.
Furthermore, he is on the watch list for the Wooden Award and the Sporting News Preseason All-America First Team.
After defeating Iowa State, Kansas is 12-5.
Self has been the head coach at Kansas since 2003. In 2008 and 2022, he led the Jayhawks to the national championship. Along the way, Self has led them to 16 Big 12 regular-season titles and eight conference tournament titles. In addition, Kansas made three Final Fours under Self.
Self was named the NCAA Coach of the Year in 2012.
