The 2025 Kansas basketball team has the potential to bounce back after two straight disappointing seasons by the blue bloods' usual standards. This year's key piece for the Jayhawks is their freshman phenom, Darryn Peterson, a five-star recruit who picked the Jayhawks out of Ohio. He could also be the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. If Kansas reaches its true potential this year, it will be because of Peterson running the show.
Kansas opened the 2025 college basketball season with a home win over Green Bay, and Peterson scored 21 points. However, there were injury concerns surrounding Peterson after barely playing in the second half of their exhibition game against Louisville. Kansas head coach Bill Self said it was due to cramps, and then he missed their second exhibition game due to a stomach bug. However, Self clarified that Peterson is good to go and will play without restrictions.
When speaking to the media at the end of last week, after both of their exhibitions were completed, Self said this about Peterson’s health.
“He’s fine, he practiced today full speed. So is he 100%? Probably not, but is he practicing? Yes, so I certainly don’t anticipate holding him anymore from this point forward, you know, unless something else happens.”
Then, Peterson exited against Green Bay after playing only 21 minutes, despite scoring 21 points for Kansas. He left due to a presumed injury, but it was unclear.
When asked whether Peterson did not come back into the game due to the nature of Kansas’s lead or if it was his cramps, Self said,
“Probably a combination, it was bothering him, he said he felt it [cramps] coming on, so no reason to [put him back in]. We need to practice tomorrow, so hopefully we can get him out there for practice tomorrow. But yeah, that was the primary reason. If it had been a closer game, I’m sure he would have tried to go back out there.”
The news that Darryn Peterson is okay and that Kansas was careful with him should be a massive relief for Kansas fans. It is also great news for this season's college basketball landscape. He is a difference maker and someone that Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb compared to Kobe Bryant. The Jayhawks will need all the help they can get when they travel to Chapel Hill to play the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday.
