As it has not been rare to see Darryn Peterson's absence from Kansas basketball games, there's no denying the frustrating freshman season he's had due to the myriad of injuries. While the Kansas basketball superstar, Peterson, has missed games, head coach Bill Self went to bat for his player.
Peterson has played in 13 games this season, averaging 20.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from beyond the arc. He has missed 11 games, whether it be due to cramping, a sprained ankle, an illness, a quad injury, or a hamstring injury, with Self saying how it's been a “string of bad luck.”
“Was his hamstring legit? Hell yes,” Self said, according to The Kansas City Star. “Would you risk injuring it more in November? No. Was his cramping legit? Yes, positively, it was. Did he turn his ankle bad (at Colorado) to the point where he couldn’t practice for nine days, and then practice one day and play BYU? Yes. And that was adrenaline kicking in the BYU game. And then, of all things, he gets sick.”
Bill Self calls narrative around Kansas basketball's Darryn Peterson ‘BS'
With the Kansas basketball star having an NBA outlook, as some have him as a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the injuries could be a huge talking point for many. There's been a narrative surrounding Peterson's motivation with the amount of games missed, one that Self says is “BS.”
“So the narrative is BS, in many ways,” Self said. “Load management? This kid hasn’t talked about that one time or anything. Load management? Geez, that’s when you play four games in seven days. That’s not when you play one half a week or anything like that. So those (rumors) aren’t true. The narratives — at least some of the ones I saw — are inaccurate.”
Peterson missed the Jayhawks' last game due to illness, where the program upset Arizona. Self and the team are hoping it can clear up. Kansas basketball is 19-5, 9-2 in Big 12 play, looking to win nine straight games on Saturday against No. 5 Iowa State.
