Bill Self should be busy celebrating right now after that huge upset win over No.1 Arizona (82-78). Mind you, his team made that possible without its star player, Darryn Peterson. But the coach was answering the media about the latter’s absence, which happened under some really complicated circumstances.

“We thought he’d go. I thought adrenaline would kick in, and he would go. He was out there at shootaround. But you could just tell he didn’t feel great. But we were all hopeful that he would kick in and be ready to go,” said Bill Self regarding the confusion that was created with Darryn Peterson’s absence.

The problem stemmed from the fact that there were two notions behind Peterson’s nonappearance. The first one was that he was out due to illness, as coach Bill Self told the media, but the second one was more sinister. Rumor had it that some serious internal fighting had occurred within the Kansas ranks, which stopped Darryn from ultimately playing the game.

Although Kansas’ Senior Associate AD for Strategic Communications denied that these were just rumors, it didn’t get the people to stop talking about the matter. Peterson, after already missing a number of games during the early season, had to miss out on another one, it seemed, and this time it wasn’t because of cramping and leg issues but “flu-like symptoms” that got the better of NCAA’s probable top draft pick.

However, it was these contradictory comments that got the people talking, who couldn’t really decide what to make of this situation.

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Fans Go Hard On Kansas For Not Divulging the Actual Truth

Peterson has made quite a habit of finding himself under the weather. And you can’t help but feel for him. He has only been with the team for 13 games out of the 24 played this season, but even then hasn’t lost the killer instinct.

Whenever he has come out on court, he made sure to remind everyone why he is the best to bet on. Averaging 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, Peterson has shot 48.9% from the field, including 41.9% from the 3-point line.

“I need help understanding how, if he’s got the flu, why is he with the team, exposing them? Why is he in the shootaround or in warmups?” pointed out an X user who did not get the idea behind it at all.

However, Kansas head coach Bill Self did reveal that Darryn Peterson didn’t practice with the team the day prior, but that means he still was with the team. And it was Peterson who informed him that his possibility to play the game would be a 50-50 at best. But knowing it was a 50-50, why didn’t Bill Self put his name on the injury report?

“Bill, then you should have put him on the injury report if you were 50/50. This kid is going to get you all investigated because Vegas doesn’t play with its $$$!!!,” said one user who was quick to react to that mistake made.

So was it a ploy all over? Were there some backhanded tactics involved that would keep the Kansas team from letting out that news in public? The fans needed to know what happened from the horse’s mouth, and without Bill Self’s official statement, they had no clue, more so when there were issues regarding an internal conflict among the team.

“I’m sure Bill Self knows how great of a player he is. But he probably regrets this and has no interest in coaching him anymore,” said one fan who felt Patterson was beyond coachable now.

Well, Bill never had anything bad to say about Darryn Peterson, and he hasn’t done so ever because he knows how much of an asset he is when he is on the court. But are all these untimely injuries coming off as a hassle for him? Weighing him down?

Surely you don’t want to be playing the No. 1-ranked team in Arizona without your main man, and Peterson’s health issues are complicating things for him. Well, one might shudder to think what would have happened had Flory Bidunga (23 pts), Melvin Council Jr (23 pts), Bryson Tiller (18 pts), and Jamari McDowell (10 pts) not come in clutch during the game against the Wildcats.

So, whatever the issues might be, it seems that managing Kansas is taking its toll on Bill Self, who has a lot on his plate right now, and this confusion didn’t help the situation at all.