The hamstring injury of Darryn Peterson has come back to haunt Kansas. It started in their preseason scrimmage against Louisville when coach Bill Self described it as just cramping and not a long-term issue.  Peterson sat out of their second exhibition match-up, but not because of his hamstring injury, but because of a “bug” that had Peterson under the weather. It seems things are getting worse. 

The potential No.1 pick started with 17 minutes in the first half on opening night against Green Bay, but his injury flared up in the second half. However, he still played his first full regular season game against North Carolina, finishing with 23 points and 3 assists in 28 minutes. Peterson has not played since. However, with the Champions Classic against Duke coming up, many fans hoped Peterson would return for the big game. Unfortunately, he will be spending more time on the sidelines, according to a recent report.

“Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson is OUT for tonight’s matchup against Duke in the Champions Classic, source told @TheFieldOf68. Peterson is still recovering from a hamstring strain that he’s been dealing with since the start of the season,” Jeff Goodman wrote.

Kansas desperately needs Peterson back up and running. They are 3-1 but have faced only one ranked opponent in the North Carolina Tar Heels, which resulted in a loss. And they had Peterson for the entire game. You would imagine that for a Preseason No.2 Duke, Kansas would go all in. However, after their last win against Princeton, Self emphasised that preventing this from becoming worse is more important. 

“You can say or think, ‘Well, we’re trying to win the battle.’ Well, yeah, we are, but the battle is not nearly as important as the long-term, so to speak, and we have got to get him where he’s not hesitant to play,” he said. 

According to Goodman, Peterson “wants to play” and “feels like he can play” against Duke, but Self and the program aren’t taking any chances. His injury management so far has been chaotic, and the program likely wants to preserve its goldmine. We are still pretty early into the season, and Peterson will be more important later on. Yes, we are missing out on the epic clash of No.1 prospects, Cameron Boozer vs Darryn Peterson, but hamstring injuries are tricky. In case of mild injury, you can’t always trust how the athlete is feeling, as they can worsen when given any kind of strain or overload. 

Darryn Peterson’s Injury Puts Bill Self In A Difficult Situation

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein had a pretty murky take on what this Darryn Peterson injury could mean to Kansas. “Early on in the season, if Kansas and this rendition of Kansas does not have Darren Peterson, they could be in for an incredibly incredibly difficult stretch. Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, Kansas is going to get Duke in the Champions Classic at the Mecca without Darryn Peterson. That, in my opinion, will be at least a 15-point win for the Blue Devils,” He said on Monday’s episode of Inside College Basketball Now. 

Many have already questioned the quality of Peterson’s supporting cast at the Jayhawks. In the four games so far, Flory Bidunga and Tre White are the only double-digit scorers apart from Peterson, averaging 17 and 12 points, respectively. Their 3-point shooting without Peterson looks very pale as no one makes more than 2 per game apart from the star freshman. 

Their lack of shooters makes things incredibly difficult against top teams, something they have in bunches on their schedule. After Duke, they will head to the Players’ era festival, facing Notre Dame and Syracuse. According to Rothstein, it will be difficult for Kansas to survive this without Peterson.

“They need Darryn Peterson to beat Notre Dame and Syracuse on a neutral court. Notre Dame and Syracuse are both improved from last season,” He said. “Then, after Vegas, you got Dan Hurley and UConn coming to Fog Allen Fieldhouse in early December. And then there’s a neutral-site game pseudo in Kansas City against Missouri.”

Bill Self hasn’t even set up his team yet, making the situation more difficult. The squad is still uncooked. The uncertainty on his potential return date adds to Self’s woes as he can’t properly plan around it. However, the team is still not without talent, and this is an uncontrollable situation. So, Self will just have to make do with what he has and hope for the best until Peterson comes back.