The Kansas basketball team has been mostly successful so far this season, currently sitting at number eight in the country ahead of Monday's showdown against the Houston Cougars. One of the big storylines of the season for Kansas has revolved around Darryn Peterson, the hyper-talented freshman point guard who has seen some major availability concerns emerge over the last few weeks.
Peterson is widely expected to be one of the first names taken off the board in June's NBA Draft, although now, it seems that some league scouts are tempering their expectations for the point guard.
“You’d have to be naive not to be concerned,” an NBA personnel executive said, per Mike Decourcy of The Sporting News. “One of the scariest things in the league is a guy who has to be 100 percent to play.”
Peterson has had numerous eyebrow-raising incidents regarding his availability this year, including recently removing himself from a game against Oklahoma State, as well as coming out for warmups in a game a couple of weeks prior to that, before ultimately opting not to suit up due to an illness.
When he's been on the court, Peterson has flashed all of the skills that have had NBA scouts salivating over the last several months, including a silky outside jumper, elite athleticism, and sharp defensive instincts, among others. However, Peterson has stiff competition for the number one pick in the draft, with BYU standout AJ Dybantsa and Duke power forward Cameron Boozer among the names that many project to have a legit chance at going first overall.
For an NBA landscape that has become increasingly plagued by soft tissue injuries and load management concerns, the fact that these issues are already springing up for Peterson in college is certainly not a great sign.
In any case, Kansas and Houston are set to tip off at 9:00 pm ET.
