Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson will miss next week’s Players Era Festival in Las Vegas because of his hamstring injury, coach Bill Self said Friday at a news conference.
That means Peterson, who has already missed three games, will be out for at least another three.
“We’re not going to have Darryn in Vegas, although we have reevaluated and he’s right there close, but he hasn’t quite done enough to put him in position to go out and play multiple games in a short span like that,” Self said. “We’re hopeful he’s running and cutting and doing all those things while we’re in Vegas, but not to the point where he’s probably ready to play.”
Peterson has not played since KU’s Nov. 7 loss at North Carolina. He also missed the Jayhawks’ second exhibition game on Oct. 28. When Peterson was initially limited in the second half of an exhibition win at Louisville on Oct. 24, Self told media that Peterson was dealing with cramps, but eventually that diagnosis changed to a hamstring injury.
“He’s had hamstring tightness, which is caused by a slight hamstring strain,” Self said after Tuesday’s Champions Classic. “So until that subsides, he’s not going to be confident to play on it, push off, those sorts of things — which has been going on (for) a fairly significant amount of time.”
The mixed messaging has caused frustration and confusion for Kansas fans, but the cautiousness is understandable. Peterson is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft — projected to go No. 1 by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie — and he is key to KU’s chances of competing in the Big 12 and eventually in March.
Self has been through this before with an elite prospect, although the situations are not identical. In 2014, Joel Embiid was dealing with back and knee injuries midway through conference season. Embiid missed one game in mid-February, then returned for four games.
Embiid then missed the final two games of the regular season and was ruled out for the Big 12 tournament and the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He never got a chance to potentially return because Kansas lost to Stanford in the Round of 32.
So there could be some added caution to ensure that when Peterson returns, he’s fully ready to go.
Until then, Kansas will need to rely on its defense to win. The Jayhawks had a mostly encouraging performance Tuesday against Duke. Despite losing 78-66, the Jayhawks were competitive for most of the night and even led by six in the first half. Yet, it’s clear the Jayhawks labor to score at times without Peterson. This is a team that was built around him, with plans for him to be the star and have a high usage rate.
Without Peterson, the Jayhawks have leaned on their front court of Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller and Tre White. Bidunga, averaging 16.4 points, looks to be one of the breakout stars in college basketball and a capable sidekick to Peterson. Those two should be dynamite in the pick-and-roll once Peterson returns.
Tiller, a redshirt freshman averaging 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds, has also been a pleasant surprise. Where KU struggles without Peterson is shooting on the perimeter. Peterson has made 6 of 12 3s in two games. The rest of the team is shooting 31.4 percent from deep and has made just 17 3s in the last three games without Peterson.
“We haven’t shot it well yet but so much of that is Darryn,” Self said on Friday. “Our shooting is concerning, but I still think we’ll be an above-average shooting team without question.”
The Jayhawks open the Players Era Festival against Notre Dame on Monday and then play Syracuse on Tuesday. Even without Peterson, the Jayhawks will likely be favored in both games. If they do win a pair, they’ll likely be an underdog against whoever they play on Wednesday. It’s also possible they play Thursday instead of Wednesday, depending on the results of the first two games.
The next big date to circle is Dec. 2, when third-ranked UConn travels to Allen Fieldhouse. KU also plays No. 24 North Carolina State (on the road) and Missouri (in Kansas City, Mo.) in the first two weeks of December.