Things haven't quite gone according to plan so far this season for Kansas basketball, but there's still plenty of time to get things back on the right track. On Tuesday night, however, things weren't pretty at the end of the second half in a 78-66 loss to No. 5 Duke.
Of course, there will be some Jayhawks fans that will throw an asterisk next to this loss because of the absence of star guard Darryn Peterson. The freshman phenom has now missed the last three games with a hamstring injury that has been nagging him at the start of his college career.
Fortunately for the Jayhawks, it doesn't sound like this injury will keep Peterson sidelined for much longer. Head coach Bill Self gave an update on his star's status after the loss to Duke, via ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
“He’s had hamstring tightness, which is caused by a slight hamstring strain,” Self said of Peterson. “Until that subsides, he’s going to not be confident to play on it … We actually feel good about what we’re doing …. We don’t think it’ll be long.”
Peterson came into the season as one of the most highly-touted prospects in the country, and he has a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft next summer. During his first few college games, he showed off a well-rounded offensive arsenal, both as a scorer and a distributor, that will have NBA teams salivating.
In the short-term, Kansas desperately needs Peterson to get back on the court in order to reach the heights it wants to this season. The Jayhawks have already suffered two losses, against North Carolina and Duke, and are at risk of being unranked on Monday after this latest defeat. Self's squad lacks the offensive creation on the rest of the roster to survive without Peterson on the court.
However, there is still plenty of season left to go, and there is no reason to rush one of the best players in the country back onto the floor. Kansas' next marquee game comes on Dec. 2 against No. 3 UConn, and the Jayhawks will certainly be hoping that Peterson is back on the floor by then.
