Darryn Peterson injury update: Bill Self clarifies severity of Kansas star's hamstring issue

Kansas head coach Bill Self revealed on Saturday that superstar freshman guard Darryn Peterson would be out for ‘the immediate future.’ Peterson has now missed three games, in which the Jayhawks have gone 2-1 with wins over Texas A&M-CC and Princeton and a loss to No. 5 Duke in the Champions Classic.

Following their 78-66 loss to the Blue Devils, Self clarified the severity of Peterson’s hamstring issue. He revealed that his injured is caused by a slight hamstring strain, but that they don’t think ‘it will be long’ before he makes his return.

“Jeff Goodman reported that it was a hamstring strain, so we’ll go with whatever he said,” Self said with a chuckle. “We just go with whatever Goodman reported. He’s had hamstring tightness, which is caused by a slight hamstring strain.”

“So until that subsides, he’s gonna not be confident to play on it. Push off and those sorts of things, which has been going on a fairly significant amount of time. So, we actually feel good about what we’re doing. They feel good about what we’re doing and we don’t think it will be long.”

Peterson is a massive absence for KU, as the Five-Star+ freshman averaged 21.5 points (60% FG, 50% 3PT), 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks in two appearances as a Jayhawk. They were able to weather the early storm without him against two mid-major programs, but the Duke game showcased how much the Jayhawks are missing their star guard.

Kansas’ schedule gets harder as Peterson’s absence looms

With games against Notre Dame, Syracuse, No. 3 UConn, Missouri, and No. 25 NC State coming up soon, Kansas is in dire need of a Peterson return or stronger guard play from Tre White, Melvin Council Jr., and Kohl Rosario.

“He’s getting the best treatment, I mean, all that stuff,” Self said on Sunday. “But he’s got tightness in his right hamstring. And, you know, he wants to be out there so bad. But, you know, I’m not going to put him out there until he feels well. And, you know, you can say or think, well, we’re trying to win the battle. Well, yeah, we are, but the battle’s not nearly as important as the long-term, you know, so to speak. 

“And we’ve got to get him where he’s not hesitant to play. We have seen him play, and he’s pretty good. And we still haven’t seen him whole yet. Think about that. You know, we need to get him where he can explode without the thought in his mind that something negative could happen. And it probably won’t. But, you know, I don’t want to put him in a situation where he’s got to think about that.”

Kansas heads into its fourth game without Peterson Monday night against Notre Dame in the First Round of the Player’s Era Festival.