Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson is probably the best player in college basketball when he’s on the court.

Trouble is, Peterson isn’t always on the court.

He has missed 11 of his team’s 24 games this season for a variety of soft tissue issues as well as “flu-like symptoms.”

He sat out the second half against fellow top draft pick AJ Dybantsa and BYU due to severe cramping and also sat out Kansas’ upset of Arizona, the No. 1 team in the nation, on Monday with “flu-like symptoms.”

All of this has raised questions about whether his absences will impact Peterson’s draft stock. He is currently projected as the No. 1 overall pick by both ESPN.com and Tankathon, as well as other sites.

At least one former NBA star believes it will.

“I feel like it will effect his draft stock,” former NBA star Jalen Rose said on TNT. “He’s still a terrific performer….He’s a premier player, but there are certain players unfortunately that are injury prone.”

The 6-foot-6 Peterson has missed games with a hamstring strain, ankle issues, and recent flu-like symptoms. Yet he is a magician when he’s on the court, playing the game at a speed and pace unlike anyone else in college basketball and is averaging 20.5 points and 4.2 rebounds when healthy.

No. 9 Kansas is 19-5, 11-1 in the Big 12, and is a rising contender to reach the Final Four.

Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl doesn’t believe the absences will impact Peterson’s draft stock, but says he would have “concerns” if he were his coach in the NBA.

“They’re really good with him, they’re really good without him,” Pearl said on TNT. “You know, the difference is he doesn’t have the ball in his hands when he’s not playing out there so the other guys have got to do more.

“I don’t think this is going to affect his draft stock, because everybody that I talked to in the league, he still looks like the No. 1 guy. But if I was coaching in the NBA, I’m sorry, I would have some concerns missing 11 out of 24 games for hamstrings and quad pulls and illness, just a long list of different things. My job is to coach the team, my job is to win championships. The General Manager has got to make another decision. I would be a little concerned about just how tough he is.”

By contrast, Dybantsa, Duke’s Cam Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, the other top projected draft picks, have not missed a single game this season.

Still, former college and NBA star Jamal Mashburn also said he’s not concerned about Peterson’s NBA stock.

“For a kid like Darryn Peterson, I’m not necessarily concerned about him,” he said. “I’d rather have him on the court and let him adjust to his body and what he can actually do. He’s a premier talent. At the end of the day, when he’s on the court, he’s probably the best player on the court at any particular moment. I’m not really concerned about him.

“One thing I’ve learned in watching Kansas play is, when he’s out of the lineup, they’ve all gotten better. And when he’s inserted, they know how to play around him. They play much more of an NBA pro style, where you can insert people in and out, and it doesn’t efffect performance. So I like him in the lineup.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily, because his body breaks down, that it’s a toughness issue. I think it’s a soft tissue issue, and I think it’s cautionary on his side as well.”

At that point, Rose pointed out that Peterson will have to play even more games in the NBA, where soft-tissue injuries could be magnified.

“If he has a soft tissue issue playing a collegiate schedule, now he’s getting to the NBA playing two times more games in the back court going against some of the fastest people in the world, and needing to defend and fight through screens and stuff like that, I feel like it will effect his draft stock,” Rose said.

Of course, in the NBA load management is now common and you only need to play 65 games to be eligible for the various awards.

“There’s a reason for that,” Mashburn said. “They know there’s load management and all these different things. You’re not playing a whole season anyway.”