Bill Self emphasizes Darrin Peterson’s narratives
Like number 8 The Kansas State basketball team embarrassed No. 5 Iowa State last Saturday, 74-56, was another game where people focused on concerns about star Darrin Peterson. Doc Peterson’s minutes with the Kansas basketball team the bigger issue was also discussed with the star, the head coach Bill Self he went out of his way to put down any kind of narrative.
Peterson started against Iowa State, but did not play the final seven minutes of the game, having recently missed time with an illness. There were stories about his unwillingness to push through and play. In an interview with Seth Davis at Hoops HK, Self would clarify what happened with Peterson’s illness and his minutes last Saturday.
“He was sick, he practiced the day before as much as he could, he went through shots for about a day, and he still felt like crap. He came out to see how he felt in the warmup when we were doing stretches and stuff. People saw him do that,” Self said. “At that time he came out and said, ‘I’m going to do it.’ He came back when he wasn’t feeling well, his head was pounding, all that stuff. And the doctor said to me, ‘Bill, no, he won’t be able to leave.’
Kansas City’s Bill Self continues with Darrin Peterson
As Self characterized Peterson’s absence with the Kansas basketball team as “bad luck” in the past, the head coach would step into the process of a player dealing with an energy-sapping illness.
“I think when you don’t work out for a long time and you lose weight, you have flu symptoms and all that stuff — he wasn’t feeling well. When I say he wasn’t feeling well, was he 60 percent? Was he 70 percent? Maybe, I don’t know. But he wasn’t to the point where we were down to say, ‘Hey, come on.'”
There’s no denying that some will continue to say that Peterson is “soft” or doesn’t want to come through to play, but Self doesn’t see it that way at all. Now the goal is to get Peterson back to playing level.
“We’ve got to make sure he’s ready to practice Monday and Tuesday to be ready Wednesday,” Self said.
The Jayhawks (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) next play Wednesday against Oklahoma State.
2026-02-18 17:08:00
