Darryn Peterson’s Injury Has Become an Unhealthy Distraction for Kansas

During Tuesday's loss to UConn, it was never more evident that Kansas needed Darryn Peterson back on the court. The Jayhawks, who have not had their star player at their disposal for seven consecutive games, went cold offensively in the second half and let the Huskies make a comeback.

While Peterson's injury was once described as cramping and thought to be a day-to-day issue, it has now lingered for over a month and has forced him to miss nearly one-fourth of KU's regular-season games at the very minimum.

Kansas now has three losses in nonconference play, with two difficult matchups looming against Missouri on a neutral site and NC State on the road. At this point, when is the cutoff where fans should actually be worried about Peterson's future as a Jayhawk?

The one thing that makes this situation a bit weird is that Peterson doesn't really need to play in college to cement his status as an NBA Draft pick.

He could probably go in the top three of this year's draft without playing another game at Kansas as long as he tests out medically and has a strong showing during the combine, similar to what Kyrie Irving did at Duke.

KU needs Peterson a lot more than he needs Kansas, and he's almost certainly received a hefty NIL fund from the program that it can't take back. What if he has decided that risking this injury isn't worth jeopardizing his professional future? This is where the root of the crisis comes for a lot of people.

His injury is causing huge problems, not only for the team on the court, but also as a distraction in the media.

It has become abundantly clear that without Peterson, the Jayhawks aren't a true contender in the Big 12. Granted, they have pulled off some gritty victories and shown a lot of heart, but no team with an offense ranking outside the top 50 nationally has a shot to make a deep run in March.

The roster was constructed with complementary players who would benefit from Peterson's strengths, yet they have now been left on their own. It can't possibly feel good for his teammates when all the media is interested in is learning when Peterson will return.

The biggest concern to outsiders is not what's on the court, but rather the player who hasn't been on the court. This probably feels a bit annoying to the players who are busting their tails every night to put in the work.

There has also appeared to be a disconnect between Peterson's injury and head coach Bill Self.

Self initially downplayed the issue back in October, detailing it as cramping after the Louisville game. When he missed the Fort Hays State exhibition days later, his injury was referred to as a "bug" that had him feeling under the weather.

As we know, Self has been in this sport for a long time and has learned a thing or two about handling injuries. If Self had never believed this was serious, he wouldn't have attempted to play it off casually with the media, because it has since come back to bite him.

It wasn't until before the Duke game that he revealed the leg cramping was actually a hamstring issue that had been lingering for quite some time. This timeline suggests that the program found out it was a bit more serious than initially anticipated, which should undoubtedly worry fans.

Self has now told the media that Peterson had a chance to go in the Players Era Tournament. He then said that he had been practicing and had a chance to go for the UConn game.

NEW: Bill Self says Darryn Peterson isn’t quite 100% still.

“That was our deal, we’re gonna wait until he’s 100%. We anticipate him being full speed real soon.” pic.twitter.com/0Y9bUh7EsT
— Mike Vernon (@M_Vernon) December 3, 2025

By the time the Missouri game arrives this weekend, the Jayhawks will have gone exactly one month without Peterson appearing in a game.

ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg joked during the halftime show that Kansas could use Peterson, only if he ever plays a game with the team again. While this was probably nothing more than a quip in the moment, it is what is on the back of every Jayhawk fan's mind... and that is a scary thought.