Darryn Peterson injury update: Bill Self reveals when he will be worried by Kansas star missing games

Concern is continuing to grow for Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson as the missed games pile up. Peterson sat out Tuesday evening’s win against Towson, marking the eighth game that he missed this season.

The guard previously missed about a month of action after suffering a hamstring injury on Nov. 7 against North Carolina. He finally returned on Dec. 7 against Missouri and also played the following game against NC State on Dec. 13.

But Peterson was once again sidelined Tuesday against Towson, this time due to cramping. Jayhawks coach Bill Self offered some insight on his level of worry regarding the injury and whether it will be something that continues to linger for Peterson this season.

“I’ve been concerned for five weeks,” Self said. “He couldn’t finish the (Missouri) game. You get 24 minutes and then you say, ‘I can’t go?’ Is it nagging? Yeah. But it’s also bad enough that it just hasn’t gotten better like we had hoped. We went through a period of time where it wasn’t cramping, it was just the hamstring. Then that healed up. So I’m not worried yet.

“I’m concerned because this team needs to have an extended period of time together. Because it doesn’t work like, ‘Well, he practiced for two days so he’s ready to go.’ That’s not how it works. He wouldn’t be able to help us that way and we wouldn’t know how to help him. There’s gotta be a rhythm to it and the rhythm isn’t just being out there and being at 70% or whatever. The rhythm is having extended days where you’re 100%.”

In the four games he has played this season, Peterson is averaging 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 52.8% from the floor. He scored 17 points in both of the games that he has played since returning from injury.

The one-game absence might not seem like much cause for concern on the surface, as Kansas was easily able to handle Towson without Peterson. However, based on what Self has seen in practice, there’s potentially a lot more going on.

“He practiced yesterday, but he wasn’t moving like he’s capable of moving by any stretch,” the coach said. “Much like the NC State game, much like the Missouri game. Although I think Missouri was more health related than it was legs, but it’s not his hamstring. So at least we’ve got that going for us. He’s frustrated. You can practice, you can be out there when you’re young, but when you get a little bit older, your body doesn’t exactly react the way your brain tells it to. That’s what he’s going through at age 19. His body’s just not reacting. His brain’s telling him to go somewhere and do it at this pace and his body’s just not reacting to it.

“We still believe that it’s a day-to-day deal. We still believe that we’ll get through this. But until he can actually move the way that his brain’s programmed to move, we’ll probably be very cautious still.”

Darryn Peterson’s next opportunity to return to action will come Monday as Kansas takes on Davidson. Tip off for that contest is set for 8 p.m. ET.