Kansas HC Bill Self Praises Darryn Peterson After Debut With Jayhawks

Kansas basketball opened the new season with an excellent showing over Green Bay in a whopping 43-point victory. In the contest, freshman star Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in just 22 minutes in his official NCAA debut.

Peterson added four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block, shooting 7-for-11 from the field (3-for-7 on 3-pointers) and showing why he is projected to go in the top three of next year's NBA Draft.

In his postgame press conference, head coach Bill Self praised Peterson for how he performed in his first collegiate action.

"He makes the game look easy. It's not that easy," Self said. "In the first half, he was playing downhill, and he played really well. He's a good player. His poise is well beyond his years, without question. Teams will do a good job guarding him. He'll have off nights, and that stuff's gonna happen. He's young, but he's about as mature as any 18-year-old around anywhere I would say."

"He was good obviously in the first half. He just scores easy, makes it look easy. He was really good," he added. "Once again, we couldn't really play him much in the second half at all. But I thought he was good. I thought Flory [Bidunga] was good, and I thought Melvin was good. I thought we had three guys play really, really well."

While the 18-year-old guard was highly effective when he was on the court, the lingering cramping issues that held him out of the Fort Hays State exhibition re-emerged.

Nov 3, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) reacts during the first half against the Green Bay Phoenix at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

He was only on the court for about half the game and played just a little over four minutes in the second half, similar to what happened against Louisville when his leg began cramping up again.

Thankfully, Self did add that it was a precautionary measure and that he would have tried to stay on the court if it wasn't already a blowout.

"He said he felt it coming on. So no reason [to play him the last 15 minutes]," Self said about the injury. "We need to practice tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get him out there for practice tomorrow. That was the primary reason. If it had been a closer game, I'm sure he would have tried to go back out there."

This cramping issue certainly isn't what Jayhawk fans want to hear about heading into a pivotal road game at North Carolina. But as long as Peterson can stay on the court, he will be one of the most dominant players in the country.