Bill Self sounds like he finally had enough of Darryn Peterson saga at Kansas

The Jayhawks must figure out what the deal with its superstar is before the NCAA Tournament

Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) runs baskc after making a 3-pointer during a men's college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Kansas Jayhawks at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s well beyond the time for Kansas to figure out what they are doing regarding the Darryn Peterson situation and now it sounds like Bill Self finally had enough.

Again, the situation reared its ugly head on Wednesday night in Stillwater as the Jayhawks were rolling Oklahoma State early in the second half. Peterson drilled a wing 3-pointer and immediately pointed to the Jayhawks bench for a sub.

He would not return to the game.

His absence didn’t hurt No. 8 Kansas, winning 81-69, but all the conversation after the game had nothing to do with its victory but rather the mysterious absence from the game.

"We've had this happen more than a couple of times” Self said after the win. “I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go. We only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing, because he could've had a really big night"

Peterson finished with 23 points, a team-high, and six of his seven made shots were 3-pointers. He sat for the final 17:22.

The potential No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft missed Kansas’ upset win over then No. 1 Arizona on February 9 with an illness and returned against No. 5 Iowa State on February 14, playing 24 minutes in the 18-point loss, but sat for the final 7:01 of the game.

Earlier in the season he missed extended time due to a hamstring injury.

"It's a concern," Self continued. "I thought we were past it, but obviously we're not. It's certainly a concern. You get into the NCAA Tournament, you're playing a team just as good as you and you need to have all your best players available, so to speak. All it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season.”

After weeks of carefully choosing his words if finally sounds like the Kansas head coach is fed up with the antics of his best player, regardless of what the excuse is anymore.

It leaves Kansas in an unenviable position, knowing that Darryn Peterson raises its ceiling to a National Championship contender while having to fight and claw to make it out of the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament without him.

“One thing about it is it's happened often enough that our guys have learned to play without him,” Self added. “Even though that's not the way we want to play. But that's certainly something that we're not unaccustomed to right now."

The Jayhawks have five games left in the regular season with two marquee matchups against No. 2 Houston and No. 4 Arizona and its other games – Cincinnati, Arizona State, and Kansas State – are not the most challenging foes the Big 12 can present.

Still, Bill Self is sending a message to Darryn Peterson that he needs to be on the court and Kansas needs him available for its biggest games of the season in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.