Kansas freshman star Darryn Peterson doesn't play in last preseason game
Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson did not play during the Jayhawks’ exhibition game vs. Fort Hays State on Tuesday night.
Peterson was spotted courtside about an hour before the game in street clothes. He wasn’t involved in pregame warmups.
In a media availability on Monday, Self said Peterson had been dealing with cramps for a while, and they resurfaced during the Louisville exhibition, where he played limited minutes in the second half. The guard practiced on Sunday, but not on Monday.
“I don’t want to say he’s perfectly fine yet,” Self said on Monday. “It’s been something that’s been bothering him, you know, off and on for a while. And that was, you guys don’t know this, but there was a reason why he didn’t play the second half is because of that.”
Self continued: “I don’t think that we’ve quite remedied the situation yet. That’s gonna be a big deal, if your best player can’t finish games because of cramping or whatever it would be. So we’ve gotta figure that out.”
On pregame radio before Tuesday’s contest, Self described the situation at Louisville more in depth.
“The second half he wasn’t himself at all,” Self said. “He started, tightness — not really cramping — just tightness. And he got out there to start the second half and I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ He said, ‘Ah, I’m tight. I can’t move.’ So that’s when we pulled him.”
He later continued: “I’d rather have him full go Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday before we play Monday. So I doubt he plays tonight. But it’s not because of anything major. He just doesn’t feel well. He just doesn’t have his strength. I don’t know if it’s a bug going around or what.”
After the game, Self said Peterson talked to the doctors and he’ll “hopefully” get the situation handled and be full speed in a couple days.
Peterson was named Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and he has a chance to be an All-American caliber player.
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