Bill Self says Darryn Peterson’s play has been ‘OK.’ National analysts chime in
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU coach Bill Self says Peterson’s recent play has been “OK,” not peak.
- Commentators Jay Bilas, Stephen A. Smith urge Peterson to speak up and be more available.
- Some believe speculation on his availability will persist until he plays and speaks more.
Darryn Peterson, who has missed 11 men’s basketball games in his one-and-done season at Kansas and sat out long stretches in several other contests because of hamstring and quad injuries, cramping, an ankle sprain and illness, has been available to play 30 and 32 minutes the past two games.
How has the 6-foot-6 Canton, Ohio native, expected to be taken No. 1 or 2 in the 2026 NBA Draft, fared in those contests?
“I think he’s been OK,” KU coach Bill Self said on Tuesday’s Hawk Talk radio show. “I love Darryn, but I don’t think that he’s played as well the last two games as what he was playing before. Does he have it in him to do that? Yes, it’s just there’s a lot of stuff thrown at him. Can you imagine being a freshman in college and having ESPN ‘First Take’ talk about you and you never ever say a word about defending yourself or anything? Everybody just talks about you.
“And that’s hard. He’s actually done a really nice job in trying to eliminate those distractions, but you know it’s hard. I’m not going to defend him, although I have defended him, but I’m not going to defend him. Because the bottom line is I think people get tired of hearing that, too. I think people get tired of hearing all of it.”
Speculation on Peterson’s availability game to game has been a hot topic virtually the entire season.
“I love the kid. The kid is a winner, and he’s a warrior. He’s gone through some stuff that not too many people go through nor does anybody really know all the details about what’s going on,” Self said, ostensibly referring to specifics regarding his missed playing time.
“But we’re all experts from the cheap seats and so the way that he can change it is to go out and play. I mean, instead of other people saying this or that, or whatever, just go play, because when he does play, he’s as special as anybody’s played on that court in a long, long time,” Self continued.
Two national commentators offered opinions on Peterson on Tuesday.
In appearing on the “Rich Eisen Show,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said of Peterson: “My thing is if Darryn Peterson were really getting advice from people about shutting it down, shutting it down would be the easy way to go, and the NBA would take him No. 1.
“Trying to play is what’s causing these speculative issues about his character and all that other stuff. I don’t find it fair, but if we had solid information that said so, then I’m good with it. But I think it’s been a little bit unfair. And the kid doesn’t talk. He may do a little press event or something like that, but he really doesn’t talk much. And if he were listening to me, I’d say the more you talk, the more people will know you. And he never had this problem in high school. Nobody ever questioned his competitiveness. But man, when that dude plays, there is not much question. There are not many like him. He is the real deal.”
Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take has commented on Peterson on two recent occasions.
“I don’t know this kid from a can of paint. I’m not rooting against him. I wish him nothing but the best. I’m sincerely rooting for him. And I think I can speak on behalf of an awful lot of people in our business. Nobody’s rooting against you,” Smith said Tuesday. “Nobody enjoys saying this stuff. We don’t enjoy having these questions about you. We want to see this electrifying talent that we hear that you had, that we’ve seen you put on display from time to time. We want to see that show up. We don’t want the No. 1 team in the nation in Arizona coming into your backyard to play against you and your team has to beat them without you because about five to 10 minutes before the game, you said you can’t go. Nobody wants to hear that.
“We want to see you play. That’s what this is about, and the fact that there’s questions and skepticism, whether it’s you or it’s your camp and the people who are influencing the decisions that you make, that is coming across as being the reason why you are unavailable more than your health.”
Smith, in giving advice to Peterson, who did not appear on the show, said he should explain himself more publicly because “the television shows, the podcasts and everybody in between, the radio shows, they’re not going away, my brother. They’re not going away. What they’re talking about you now, this is going to be the storyline and a narrative that’s attached to you wherever you go, until you make sure that you are available to do what you do best, and that is ball in spectacular fashion. That is a fact, whether you like it or not.”
Also, former NBA player Richard Jefferson, who played three seasons of college basketball at Arizona, was asked his take on the “NBA on ESPN” show.
“Well, I think it’s tough, because the nature of basketball now is that he’s a freshman, so there’s things that he’s navigating as a freshman,” Jefferson said. “So we’re like, ‘We never see him play. This is a small sample size.’ I broke my foot in college. I missed 20 games. These things happen. I think some of the management and I think a lot of things people are looking at: Is it a load management? Is it his team is telling him, ‘Don’t play unless you’re 100%. Make sure that if you’re still nursing that, you put yourself on a minute restriction.’ That happens in the NBA right now.
“It’s like, ‘Hey, you’re the No. 1 pick. The only place you can go is down. So let’s make sure that you’re playing at 100%, that you’re able to go.’ That’s one of the things that I think could be going into this calculation. The No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft is a place that person is supposed to be a franchise leader, a person you can build around. It is not just you are ultra talented. It’s: ‘Are you marketable? Can you be the face of the franchise? Can you do so many things?’ And so, if you start to see inconsistencies in someone ... if you’re the No. 3 pick, that’s not the worst. If you are No. 4 pick, that is not the worst.
“But just to say that this has not impacted whether he is the No. 1 player in the draft 100%, because everything goes into that calculation. Talent-wise, I can see him be the No. 1 pick. But talent isn’t the only thing they evaluate.”
