Bill Self gives a positive perspective on Darrin Peterson
Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan so far this season Kansas basketballbut there is still plenty of time to get things back on track. On Tuesday night, however, things were not pretty at the end of the second half in a 78-66 loss to no. 5 Dukes.
Of course, there will be Jayhawks fans who will throw an asterisk next to this loss because the absence of star guard Darrin Peterson. The freshman phenom has now missed the last three games with a hamstring injury that plagued him early in his college career.
Fortunately for the Jayhawks, it doesn’t sound like this injury will keep Peterson sidelined for much longer. Head coach Bill Self gave an his star status update after the loss to Duke, via ESPN’s Jeff Borzel.
“He had a hamstring strain, which is caused by a slight strain on the hamstring,” Self said of Peterson. “Until that settles down, he’s not going to be confident playing on it. … We actually feel good about what we’re doing …. We don’t think it’s going to be long.”
Peterson entered the season as one of the top-rated prospects in the country, and has a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s 2026 NBA draft. During his first few games in college, he displayed a well-rounded offensive arsenal, both as a scorer and distributor, that will have NBA teams salivating.
In the short term, Kansas desperately needs Peterson back on the court to reach the heights he wants this season. The Jayhawks have already suffered two losses, against North Carolina and Duke, and risk being unseeded on Monday after this latest loss. Self’s team lacks the offensive creation on the rest of the roster to survive without Peterson on the court.
However, there is still a lot of season left, and there is no reason for one of the best players in the country to return to the floor. Kansas’ next game is Dec. 2 against No. 3 UConn, and the Jayhawks will surely hope Peterson is back on the floor by then.
2025-11-19 07:02:00
