LAWRENCE
Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson has played in only five games this season, but he has yet to be fully healthy for the Jayhawks with the calendar now flipped to 2026.
Peterson has dealt with a variety of issues this season. First, he suffered from cramps in the preseason. He suffered a hamstring strain that caused a seven-game absence, then quad cramps that caused him to miss two games in late December.
Having not played since KU faced N.C. State on Dec. 13, Peterson returned to action Saturday vs. UCF. Even then, he exited midway through the second half and did not return, apparently due to a bout of cramping.
Some fans have grown concerned Peterson could be shut down for the long term, or even the season, at some point, but coach Bill Self said there has been no such discussion of that idea. (Peterson is listed as probable for Tuesday’s game vs. TCU.)
“No. No. The kid, he’s — no, not at all,” Self said. “There’s people who have their own opinions on that. But no, that hasn’t been one thing talked about that. We hope it doesn’t get to that, obviously. But this is something he’s going to have to deal with, regardless of timing and all that stuff moving forward. So hopefully we can help him get his arms around that and deal with it.”
Another point of contention from Monday’s news conference was a minutes restriction that Self had referenced after Saturday’s game. At the time, Self said Peterson was slated to play about 24 minutes, and he ended up playing 23 after burning through most of that total (18 minutes) the first half.
How will Self handle his minutes moving forward?
“Well, you know, I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer,” Self said. “I said minutes restriction. That minute restriction is there’s no guarantee. There’s not medical evidence saying only play this much or play him that much or anything like that. The one thing I would say, playing him less in the first half is something that we haven’t done. So if we haven’t done it, would that possibly impact the second half? So I don’t know.
“But I’ll wait and see how he feels. He felt really, really good the other day and played obviously pretty well the first half, but the second half, after the first TV timeout, obviously needed to come out. And then sub him in and he makes a 3 in 15 seconds and needed to come out (again).”
Self clarified Monday that while he had referenced a minutes restriction in Peterson sitting the final 10 minutes against UCF, the reason was actually Peterson’s leg.
“Don’t think for a second that he didn’t play down the stretch because of a minute restriction,” Self said. “He didn’t play down the stretch because his legs didn’t allow him to do that. So hope like heck that it’ll be better, but we don’t quite have the formula yet in how to do this. Nor does anybody have the formula yet.
“Everybody can be a Monday morning quarterback or whatever. I don’t think anybody has the answer on how to handle it other than the fact that he feels well. He feels well and certainly just not quite to the point where he can go extended like we need him to go. So long story short, I don’t really know.”
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Shreyas Laddha
The Kansas City Star
Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.
