Bill Self details conversations with Darryn Peterson while KU star sat with injury
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill Self reports Darryn Peterson returned after hamstring absence and flu.
- Peterson scored 17 points, showed limited explosiveness and needs conditioning.
- Self credits trainers and praises Peterson’s work ethic while urging team cohesion.
After missing seven games over a month’s time because of a strained hamstring, Darryn Peterson returned to the Kansas basketball lineup against Missouri on Sunday weakened by flu-like symptoms that he first experienced on Friday.
“Oh, he was tired. Yes, he was tired,” KU coach Bill Self said Monday night on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show.
Peterson, who played for the first time since a loss to North Carolina on Nov. 7, scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting with three rebounds, an assist and a steal vs. Mizzou. He played 23 minutes in an 80-60 victory over the Tigers at T-Mobile Center. He was 3-of-9 from 3.
“Every shot except for the three (3s) that went in, they were all short,” Self added. “So there’s that. Him being out there is obviously a plus for us, but there’s definitely a different level he’ll get to physically when he feels a little bit better.”
Peterson and his teammates were awarded a day off Monday following the Jayhawks’ win over Mizzou. They’ll return to practice Tuesday in advance of Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. Central game at North Carolina State.
“I think that the guys need to learn how to play with Darryn and we’re behind because he’s been out for a month. But on the flip side, he needs to learn how to play to their skill set too. It’s not just a one-way street,” Self said.
“Yesterday, they hard-hedged or trapped him off a ball screen. And instead of us playing behind that immediately, we held the ball too long and didn’t have an advantage when we passed out of it, because if two people are on the ball that far from the basket, that means you’re playing four-on-three behind it, and we didn’t take advantage of those type of situations. He can do better in those type of situations.
“We can also drive it at his man, which forces his man now to respect the drive, which now opens up the pass to him. And then he can play behind that. There’s just things that when we get used to playing with each other, I think that we’ll be better and more efficient.”
Self said a big positive is that the Jayhawks (7-3), in the absence of the McDonald’s All-American, have “gotten better with our defense, which will be better for us over time, if we can just get us a little bit more consistent now offensively. So there’s been some good things about him not playing. We’d much rather have him than not, but hopefully we’ll be a better team in January and February because we’ve kind of learned how to win a style that maybe we didn’t really want to play to.”
Self said he’s been impressed with Peterson’s efforts to return to game action in a month’s time. A strained hamstring, Self said, can lead to a more severe injury if not treated properly.
“Our training staff does a great job and they always have,” Self said, noting, “this one has been obviously frustrating and frustrating for Darryn and his family, because it’s not like he has been hurt to the point where, ‘Oh my gosh,’ but he’s been hurt and hampered enough that you don’t want him to get hurt worse, because he’s not quite ready to explode.
“Then when you explode and something happens, you could be looking at significant time,” Self continued. “We hate not being our best, but gosh, I think it does give us a chance to be better down the road.”
Self added that sitting out hasn’t been good for Peterson, “because he’s lost his rhythm, but folks, he’ll get that back in a week, or whatever.”
While praising KU trainer Bill Cowgill, Self pointed out the ultimate responsibility was placed on Peterson, who has undergone treatment up to four times a day the past month.
“Let’s not get it twisted. Darryn has put in the time,” Self said, revealing a conversation he had with the 6-foot-6 freshman from Canton, Ohio.
Self said he told the player weeks ago, “DP you can’t go full speed.”
Peterson replied: “Well, can I shoot 1,000 shots every day instead of going full speed if I can’t go full speed?”
“Well, if that’s what you want to do, absolutely,” Self countered.
“DP would say, ‘Can I get extra workouts in?’ Or ‘how many times can I get treatment?’’’ Self added. “He’s attacked it the right way. He’s made of the right stuff.”
Self said it’s been “frustrating to me and also to him when people question (his efforts to return) because he’s a highly paid NIL athlete. Somebody said ‘load management.’ I’ve never heard of load management two games into a season. Then somebody would say something else. It’s just that they don’t know.
“I tell Darryn, ‘Hey, dude, you might as well get ready. You’re going to be living in big-boy world from this point forward (as a likely top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft). People are going to talk. This is good preparation for you to deal with things moving forward, too.’”
Self stressed “the whole thing about it has been a good process for everyone to go through. Even though it (stinks), it’s still better and we will be better from it, and he will be, too.”
A Hawk Talk listener asked Self if Peterson’s return could have the same effect on the team as Remy Martin’s return from injury during the 2021-22 campaign. He sparked the Jayhawks down the stretch as KU won the national title.
“I look at it a little differently. Remy coming back was a big bonus. I loved Remy coming back and adding an element,” Self said. “This is more like on the college level, more like a LeBron coming back. He’s not LeBron. But on a college level, his impact on us is different than what a Remy could be with us, even though Remy had a great impact.
“I mean, I’m hopeful that this changes how we look as a team, on how people have to approach us and guard us and things like that.”
Self compared this situation to losing leading scorer Wayne Simien for a month in the 2004-05 season.
“We played through Wayne so much when Wayne was a senior here, and he breaks his hand to start Big 12 play, and we played without him for a month,” Self said. “You won’t remember that, but we had to change how we played, and how we changed how we played ended up being how we played for the last 18 years or 20 years, or whatever.
“So that was one of the silver linings in that situation. Who knows how this will all play out. We just need our guys healthy. But with being healthy, this has a chance to spin a negative into a really huge positive if things go well.”
