Arguably, the most talented player in college basketball can’t stay healthy.
Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson, this year’s potential No. 1 pick NBA draftwill miss Saturday night’s game at Kansas State due to an injured left ankle. KU coach Bill Self sent the update to CBS Sports on Saturday afternoon.
Peterson was hurt early in the second half of 18th-ranked Colorado’s 75-69 victory Tuesday night when he stepped on the foot of Colorado forward Bangot Dak while defending.
He himself missed that game against Colorado due to illness/chest pain that required him to go to the hospital just before he was to leave with the team on Monday afternoon. Received IV treatment myself and been with the team the past few days.
“I’m fine,” I texted myself on Saturday. “It would make us feel better if we could get healthy.”
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Peterson is averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and shooting 42% from 3-point range for a Kansas team that is 13-5 (4-2 Big 12) in K-State play. Unfortunately, Peterson’s season has been dogged by a storyline that stretches back to early November. A tender hamstring problem caused him to miss seven games in a row from November 11 to December. 2. The hamstring problem resurfaced in mid-December, forcing him to miss two more games.
By missing KU’s big rivalry game on Saturday night, Peterson will be benched for the 10th time this season – exactly half of Kansas’ games. When he’s playing and healthy, he’s often casually dominant. Few guys have the talent to take over like Peterson, which has made his rickety season all the more frustrating for Kansas fans and college basketball enthusiasts alike.
The Jayhawks will have a week between games after Saturday night, and that six-day layoff could be huge as the break will add to the biggest game of the season so far: a home game against No. 13 BYU. That matchup will be billed as a battle between arguably the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft: Peterson vs. AJ Dybantsa. If Peterson plays, it will be one of the most anticipated regular season games of this excellent season.
Will Peterson be ready to play next Saturday?
“I think so,” Self told CBS Sports.
Kansas is gearing up for a grueling stretch in the coming weeks: vs. BYU, at No. 12 Texas Tech (Feb. 2), vs. No. 1 Arizona (Feb. 9), at No. 9 Iowa State (Feb. 14). The Jayhawks’ hopes of competing for a Big 12 title will rest on the health of their best player.
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