Earlier today, Kansas basketball head coach spoke with the media ahead of the Jayhawks’ upcoming game against the Princeton Tigers. While there were a number of topics, the most important had to be the news of five-star freshman Darryn Peterson. Peterson has grabbed headlines for all the unfortunate reasons, as the former No.1 recruit has dealt with several injuries.
Peterson was removed from Kansas’ 90-82 exhibition win over Louisville with cramping issues. Peterson missed out entirely in a massive 71-35 win with what was deemed a stomach bug from head coach Bill Self. Peterson was then removed a little past the halfway mark against the Green Bay Phoenix. Self later claimed it was precautionary and that if Peterson needed to come back in, he could. After keeping a clean bill of health in an 87-74 loss, Peterson then missed out in a blowout 77-46 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Self later claimed it was due to Peterson dealing with a tight hamstring.
Today, Self later kept the claim of Peterson’s sore hamstring soreness keeping him out.
The question that has begun to surface across the Lawerence is: how healthy will Peterson be ahead of when Kansas takes on the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils?
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The answer, unfortunately, will only lie inside the confines of Allen Fieldhouse. At the end of the day, no, a game against the Blue Devils is not going to make or break Kansas’ seeding at the NCAA Tournament. Yet, if the Jayhawks can pull out the massive win, then it would top their early-season resume and would only have be able to be beaten by a win over the Houston Cougars, later in the Big 12.
The consistent statements on Peterson’s health are growing more and more alarming, which typically would push fans onto the side of resting him until Peterson is 100%. Yet that is a tough pill to swallow, especially with a loss to UNC already this season.
With the news that Peterson will miss out against the Tigers, that only aids the chances of his return against Duke, but no one wants to see Peterson find a way to get more injured.
Tipoff is set for the Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT, with streaming available on ESPN+.
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