The Kansas Basketball season has come to an end. While the Jayhawks made a valiant comeback, Kansas fell 67-65 to St. John's as Dylan Darling hit a buzzer-beater for the win.
After the loss, Darryn Peterson spoke to the media, reflecting on his freshman season at Kansas, per Colin Salao over Front Office Sports.
“I was hurt for the majority of it,” Peterson said of his up-and-down year in college. “Not hurt, but there was just some mind stuff. I wasn’t really myself really until the end of the year. I guess whatever people see in these last games is kind of me.”
Peterson often missed time and did not play much in games early in the season. He missed 11 games this season, missing time with full-body cramps. He also averaged just 29 minutes per game, managing his minutes most of the season. Still, he played over 30 minutes in seven of his last nine games, while averaging 36.5 minutes per game in the NCAA Tournament.
Peterson seems to take himself out of games at times this year, but this is something head coach Bill Self also spoke about earlier this year.
“We’re in agreement with the family that he should not play until he feels good,” Self said. “But I’m not inside his head or his body that I can determine if he feels good enough or not. That’s up to him. He wants to be out there. He’s just not ready.”
Peterson is projected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. He is competing with Cameron Boozer of Duke and AJ Dybantsa of BYU to be the top overall selection in the June draft. Dybantsa and BYU also fell early in the tournament, losing in the first round. Meanwhile, Boozer and Duke will play St. John's in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
