Darryn Peterson's Early Exit From Kansas-Oklahoma State Seemed to Surprise Bill Self

The guard looks like a star in the making, but injuries have limited his availability this season.

Darryn Peterson’s injury struggles have helped keep a talented Kansas team from reaching its full potential this year. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two events familiar to Kansas fans in 2026 took place Wednesday: the Jayhawks won, and guard Darryn Peterson appeared limited by injury.

Peterson played just 19 minutes of No. 8 Kansas’s 81–69 road win over Oklahoma State Wednesday—dropping a casual 23 points while on the floor. It spoke to a storyline that has dogged the Jayhawks all season: Peterson, clearly an extraordinary talent as a freshman, has not been able to stay fully healthy.

This time, Peterson’s early departure from the game seemed to surprise even Kansas coach Bill Self.

"I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go,” Self said via Henry Greenstein of the Lawrence Journal-World. “But we only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing because he could have had a really good night.”

As Shreyas Laddas of the Kansas City Star noted on Thursday, Peterson’s bill of health in ‘26 has included “cramping issues, a sprained ankle, a hamstring strain, a separate quad issue and now an illness.”

The presumptive early NBA pick entered Wednesday having played in 14 games this season, averaging 19.8 points per game—a figure that would rank fifth in the Big 12 if he qualified.

The Jayhawks are scheduled to return to action Saturday against Cincinnati before back-to-back seismic showdowns with Houston and Arizona.

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