Talents like Darryn Peterson are always a hot topic, especially with the NBA Draft around the corner. For the Kansas Jayhawks guard, though, things have taken a turn for the worse with his playing situation, which has become impossible for NBA teams to ignore. An analyst even feels this might be a weird once-in-a-decade situation.

The Darryn Peterson situation continues to baffle everyone in the sport. While the 19-year-old is undeniably a top talent and deserves the first-pick shouts he has been receiving all season, the number of games he has missed in his only year in college basketball is becoming harder to ignore.

Brendan Marks, college basketball writer for The Athletic, though, dismissed claims that Peterson is doing this to protect his draft stock, highlighting that his behavior does not align with that probability.

Talking on the March Madness special episode of The Athletic Show, Brendan said, “It is the weirdest situation in college basketball in, at least, the last decade. There is no comparison. There was no other situation like this… and the reality is, you talk to people around the sport. There is something physical there.”

“This is not a situation where the guy is just holding himself out so that he’s protecting his draft stock. If he was doing that, he would’ve just stopped playing. He’d have shut it up and gone home. The fact that he is continuing to try to play proves that there’s something there. But it is completely strange.”

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Many, including Stephen A. Smith, launched scathing attacks on Peterson’s attitude and behavior, attributing his missed games to a lack of hunger or a team-first mindset. But Peterson has since come out and refuted it, saying that he prefers to focus on his performance and his ability to stay on the court for the Kansas Jayhawks.

These rumors are only hurting his draft stock further, and it would be unlikely to think the 19-year-old is doing it to protect it. There have been prior instances of players prioritizing their health ahead of the NBA Draft and protecting their draft stock. However, Peterson’s case started with an actual injury, and the change in his shooting stance for some shots does hint at an underlying issue.

For now, Kansas will hope Peterson can stay fit for March Madness and carry the Jayhawks deep into the NCAA Tournament.

Darryn Peterson is struggling to find consistency going into March Madness

The constant media scrutiny appears to be taking its toll on Peterson, who is already dealing with fitness issues. Peterson is finally feeling the weight of expectations and widespread media attention. While he scored 24 points, Peterson’s inefficient 8-of-21 shooting was a major factor in the Jayhawks’ blowout loss to Arizona.

While almost everyone on the Kansas roster struggled in the 23-point defeat, Darryn Peterson’s shooting inefficiency has become a pattern. The 19-year-old has averaged above 40% from the three-point line, shooting 46.5% from the field this season.

However, in his last 5 games, Peterson has made only a little over 40% of his field goals and has struggled from the three-point line as well, shooting below 30% from behind the arc in 2 of his last 3 games.

The Arizona game was no different, with the 19-year-old shooting 8-of-21 and failing to find his rhythm. The rumors can contribute to Peterson’s shooting struggles. Alternatively, it might be because of the underlying problem everyone is wondering about.

Kansas head coach Bill Self will need his star freshman to find his feet if the Jayhawks want to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.