Bill Self hasn’t fully figured out this KU basketball team. Here’s why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill Self cites Darryn Peterson's cramping issues as a source of unpredictability.
- KU offense swings between ball-watching isolation around Peterson and balanced play.
- Coach says the team is running out of time to jell before Selection Sunday.
The Kansas Jayhawks are two games away from the end of the regular season, but coach Bill Self still doesn’t know what to expect from his team.
It’s hard to blame him.
Self has essentially been juggling two teams this season: one with KU freshman Darryn Peterson and one without him.
Peterson has missed 11 games due to various health issues. When he has played, he’s rarely had a clean bill of health. He’s dealt with cramping issues dating back to the preseason.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a team less figured out,” Self said Monday. “The teams that we have made good runs with, those guys have been playing together all year long. It’s different when you have an injury, but that injury (typically is) eliminated. It’s different when ... it doesn’t eliminate. All it does is linger.”
And it appears it will continue to do so.
Self noted Peterson is still dealing with cramping issues, but he said the freshman has looked “better” as of late. The Jayhawks, though, are running out of time to figure out how to maximize the play of Peterson alongside his KU teammates.
“I don’t think I’ve been around a team where we differ how we look from a sharing, aggressiveness standpoint, personality standpoint more at this stage of the season than what this team does,” Self said. “We’ve talked about it as a group, so I’m not talking ... behind anyone’s back. We’ve talked about it as a group that we have to do certain things to give us the best chance to play with the energy that we’ve played with at times this year, when it’s been elite.”
Self emphasized that Peterson needs to blend into the team’s energy, rather than everyone simply trying to feed him for shots. At times this year, the offense has stagnated around Peterson, with players ball-watching while the young guard fires up attempt after attempt.
Sometimes, it works. For a brief stretch against Arizona, Peterson nearly brought KU back from an 18-point deficit with his superior shot-making.
But that’s not the best version of KU’s offense.
A better example, Self said, was the first half of a home win over BYU, when Peterson was “doing a little bit of everything” and even defending at a high level.
“We need him to be energetic, but we also need our players to play with the same aggressiveness as they do when he’s in the game and still look to score,” Self said. “We’ve talked about it. The players don’t disagree. They see it and feel it too.”
It’s still a work in progress ahead of the Big 12 Tournament, which begins March 10, and Selection Sunday, which is March 15.
“We haven’t been together near as much as what you would think a team in late or early March has been together,” Self said.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Bill Self hasn’t fully figured out this KU basketball team. Here’s why."
