Why Bill Self Thinks Kansas Has Improved Without Darryn Peterson

During the three-game stretch in the Players Era Festival, the Kansas basketball team showed some juice that it hadn't previously.

Without Darryn Peterson in the mix, the Jayhawks went 3-0, picking up a trio of quality victories over strong opponents, including a previously undefeated Tennessee team. Most people counted the Jayhawks out due to Peterson's absence, but they prevailed without their best player.

Head coach Bill Self believes that this tournament helped the Jayhawks improve as a whole, and that they will be better off once Peterson eventually does return.

"I think that we came here doubting how good we can be," Self said after the game. "We didn't play bad against Duke. It was a three-point game with four minutes left, but it wasn't good enough, and too many mental mistakes. I even thought yesterday and the day before against Notre Dame, I thought we had too many mental mistakes. [Wednesday], I thought we actually played sound."

Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) walks off the court following the game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders inside Allen Fieldhouse on Nov. 11, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I actually thought we followed what we're trying to do. I actually thought the ball got to the third side quicker," he continued. "Actually, I thought we screened somebody. I actually thought the shots we gave up were the shots we were supposed to give up. That's encouraging."

Several players stepped up in Peterson's absence, particularly Flory Bidunga and Tre White. Bidunga emerged as the No. 1 scoring option for the team, and White displayed what he is capable of with the ball in his hands, including unlocking a sneaky ability to get to the free-throw line.

In KU's third game of the tournament against the Volunteers, Elmarko Jackson — who had previously been struggling mightily — broke out with a 15-point second half, leading his squad to a comeback win. Across the past six games without Peterson, nearly every player on the roster has shown flashes that they had not previously shown.

"You guys have seen [Peterson] play, he's really good. We're not offensively fluid enough to win games like we get there and expect guys to just come off the bench and get 17 or whatever. But what it should do is give us confidence. And when we are whole, if we can learn to play together, that we can defend and rebound well enough to actually be pretty good," Self concluded.

Like Self mentioned, this team is not good enough to win a title with the roster as it is. However, when one of the best guards in the country returns and gives the Jayhawks a much-needed boost, KU could be competing for a spot atop the Big 12 Conference this year.