Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson has been all that fans have dreamt of and more for the No. 25 team in the nation. With comparisons drawing him to Kobe Bryant, and performances that align him as one of the top prospects on mock draft boards, he's living up to the hype. The one thing that has hindered Peterson is his health.
Latest Darryn Peterson injury update leaves Kansas fans with more questions
On Tuesday night, right before Kansas was taking the floor against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, it was revealed that Peterson was going to miss the action. What? Fans were worried and everyone was left wondering what was going on. Right after the final whistle, head coach Bill Self provided both good and bad news on his young playmaker.
Kansas phenom Darryn Peterson is dealing with a Hamstring injury for the Jayhawks
“He practiced Sunday, practiced Monday, and practiced today," Self said following Tuesday's win. "His hamstring was tight this morning. So, you know, I'm not going to risk that. So, hopefully it's precautionary. I look forward to seeing him in practice on Thursday. At least we think that's the case, but it was tight after he practiced today. We practiced this morning at 10, and he practiced. So, we didn't anticipate this, but at the end of practice, he said it was tight. So, that told me no reason (for him) to go.”
The good news here is that Peterson isn't dealing with a serious injury and that Self is optimistic that he'll be able to practice on Thursday. However, the bad news is that he's dealing with some cramping issues that don't seem to go away. It's been lingering early on this campaign.
While Peterson was on fire during his first official game, a 94-51 win over the Green Bay Phoenix, the five-star talent saw only 22 minutes on the court with a smooth 21 points. When asked if Peterson’s limited second half was due to the growing scoreline or an injury worry, Self didn't hold back with his response.
“Probably a combination, it was bothering him, he said he felt it (cramps) coming on, so no reason to (put him back in)," Self said at the time. "We need to practice tomorrow, so hopefully we can get him out there for practice tomorrow. But yeah, that was the primary reason. If it had been a closer game, I’m sure he would have tried to go back out there.”
Peterson was astounding in the Jayhawks' 87-74 loss to the UNC Tar Heels last Friday, with a further 22 points on a precise 8-of-14 rate from the field, leaving fans hoping Peterson would continue to ply his trade against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but minutes before tipoff, Peterson was ruled out.
Peterson has shown his ability to hang with the best freshman in the nation, and for now, Kansas fans want to see him healthy for when the Jayhawks host the Princeton Tigers this Saturday at 2 p.m. CT before taking on the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 18th at 8 p.m. CT. As things stand, it's up in the air if he'll be good to go for either of those games.