KU freshman Darryn Peterson says he has ‘no regrets’ from lone season in Lawrence
Darryn Peterson shook his head and pursed his lips.
The KU basketball star’s season was over as he sat in the locker room inside Viejas Arena, answering a seemingly never-ending stream of questions about a tumultuous season and his future.
As the questions kept coming, his answers became shorter and quieter. He paused often to reflect and think.
Finally, The Star asked the freshman phenom if he had any regrets about KU’s season-ending loss to St. John’s — or the Jayhawks’ season as a whole.
“No regrets,” Peterson said.
In many ways, his season — and its ending — was unpredictable.
Let alone finishing on a buzzer-beater after the Jayhawks battled back from a 14-point deficit. No. 4 seed Kansas fell 67-65 to No. 5 St. John’s.
In some ways, the heartbreaking loss was the perfect encapsulation of the Jayhawks’ season: They showed flashes of hope and great play but weren’t able to fully put it together.
Multiple players who spoke with The Star following Sunday’s loss expressed KU never met its ceiling. This group felt close around each other, but the play on the court was seldom so cohesive.
One major factor was the push-pull of Peterson’s time in the lineup. He missed 11 games due to a variety of ailments described as cramping, a quad injury, a hamstring injury, a turned ankle and illness.
When he did play, he was rarely fully healthy. But he seemed to turn a corner at the end of the year, with nine full-game performances to end the season.
The Jayhawks’ offense, though, never quite got on track.
“I didn’t think we ever got rhythm offensively the whole year,” coach Bill Self said. “It’s one thing to get rhythm, but it’s another thing when you go against teams like Houston and Arizona and St. John’s that guard differently than the other teams guard you.
“... A frustrating year would be probably too much to say. But it’s certainly a year that ... nothing about it was very smooth. Seemed like to me we were having to adjust on the fly quite a bit.”
Peterson also felt there was more for him to show.
“I was hurt for the majority of the year,” Peterson said. “I went through some really bad stuff. I wasn’t really myself for real until like the end of the year.”
Even so, his efficiency dipped down the stretch.
In his last eight games, the projected top-3 NBA Draft pick shot under 40% six times. That included a 3-for-18 shooting performance against TCU and 5-for-17 (vs. TCU) and 3-for-11 (vs. Houston) outings in the Big 12 Tournament.
Peterson shot 5-for-15 to score his 21 points on Sunday. He did make two free throws to tie the score with 13 seconds left.
“He’s had moments where he’s looked great and moments where obviously his health didn’t allow him to play like we all know he’s capable of playing,” Self said of Peterson’s season. “But I hope the year was enjoyable for him. I know I enjoyed being around him an awful lot.”
As for the legacy that Peterson leaves behind? Well, even he isn’t quite sure.
He claimed he’s still undecided about declaring for the NBA Draft, but that’s almost a formality at this point. Multiple NBA scouts told The Star throughout the season that he’s a strong contender for the top pick and unlikely to fall past No. 2, pending an evaluation of his health.
If this is the end, Peterson was unable to quite surmise how he wants KU fans to view him.
“I’m not sure right now, hopefully as a player that has a place to call home in Lawrence, Kansas,” Peterson said. “I don’t know. A player that played hard every time he could.”
