KU’s Self claps back at Darryn Peterson injury critiques: ‘String of bad luck’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Self says many social-media narratives about Peterson are inaccurate.
- Peterson missed 11 games due to cramps, sprained ankle, hamstring, quad issues, illness.
- Self calls it 'a string of bad luck,' denies load management; playing is uncertain.
Freshman Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball star Darryn Peterson has had a difficult season as he’s dealt with a number of health issues.
He has played in just 13 games, missing 11 with a variety of health issues. He has experienced cramping issues, a sprained ankle, a hamstring strain, a separate quad issue and now an illness.
Despite all of that, Peterson — a projected top-three pick in this year’s NBA Draft — is averaging 20.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game.
He missed KU’s last game, a home upset of No. 1-ranked Arizona, due to “flu-like symptoms.” Afterward, criticism from national media and fans sharpened. Some questioned Peterson’s motivation to play in games for the Jayhawks.
Kansas coach Bill Self felt compelled to address such backlash Thursday, saying he’d read some of the social media theories and narratives surrounding Peterson and found them to be “not remotely true.”
“The thing about it is, when you’re honest, people don’t believe you,” Self said. “And when you don’t comment on it, people create their own narratives. And you know what? I do the same thing about things I don’t know about: ‘Well, it must be this. It has to be that if they’re not going to talk about it.’”
Self then detailed what had transpired before Monday’s game against Arizona.
“He was sick enough he couldn’t practice (on Sunday), but he said he was still gonna give it a run,” Self said of Peterson. “He came to shootaround and he gave it a run. And he went out before (the game) and gets lightheaded, and I walk in, the doctor says, ‘Bill, he’s not gonna be able to go.’
“But the negative (thing) was that people saw him out there. What could have happened between being out there and not playing. Bottom line is he was just trying to see if he could go. If he wanted to run from it or hide from him, he wouldn’t have gone out there.”
Self called Peterson’s injuries a “string of bad luck.”
“Was his hamstring legit? Hell yes,” Self said. “Would you risk injuring it more in November? No. Was his cramping legit? Yes, positively, it was. Did he turn his ankle bad (at Colorado) to the point where he couldn’t practice for nine days, and then practice one day and play BYU? Yes. And that was adrenaline kicking in, in the BYU game. And then, of all things, he gets sick.”
To Self’s point, Peterson looked to be recovering from his cramping issues in recent games. Before the Arizona game, Peterson hadn’t experienced cramps in KU’s two previous outings, against Utah and Texas Tech.
Much as Peterson’s high school coach, Ryan Bernardi, told The Star in late January, Self insisted that Peterson isn’t doing load-management. That’s become a common theory on social media.
“So the narrative is BS, in many ways,” Self said. “Load management? This kid hasn’t talked about that one time or anything. Load management? Geez, that’s when you play four games in seven days. That’s not when you play one half a week or anything like that. So those (rumors) aren’t true. The narratives — at least some of the ones I saw — are inaccurate.”
As for whether Peterson will play against No. 5 Iowa State on Saturday, Self didn’t rule it out. But the coach said Peterson still isn’t fully recovered from his illness and was unable to practice at full speed on either Wednesday or Thursday.
“I’m hoping he can be closer to full speed tomorrow,” Self said, “and hopefully he can be full speed on Saturday.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 3:12 PM.
