Kansas phenom Darryn Peterson infuriates Jayhawks nation with incessant letdowns before NBA Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Maybe none of it will matter.
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Maybe the analysts are all right and Darryn Peterson will be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Maybe his infuriating season for the Kansas Jayhawks won’t have any bearing on his future.
But each time Peterson fails to play, or takes himself out of a game, or doesn’t find it in him to finish a close contest, the script gets weirder and weirder.
Kansas fans are ticked, again, this time on Monday night when illness ruled Peterson out after starting warmups with his teammates.
There are questions about whether he even likes basketball.
There are questions about how selfish Peterson might be, prioritizing his health and NBA future over these teammates he committed himself to at the college level.
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There are questions, in part, because Kansas has done very little answering of what the heck is going on with Peterson.
Are these cramps? An injury? An illness? Has the most talented freshman in the country really had whole layers of issues this season?
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Kansas is playing its 24th game of the season on Monday night. Peterson has played in 13.
He’s averaging more than 20 points per game, and that’s even while sometimes sitting out long stretches of action even in the games he has played.
It’s really unlike anything else in college basketball. If it’s load management, it’s been done in a clunky and annoying manner.
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If it’s really not load management, then something even more bizarre is happening here.
So sure, maybe none of it actually matters for Peterson’s future in basketball.
But right now, in the middle of what has the potential to be a special season for Kansas? It’s bizarre, brutal and a bummer.
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