Kansas star Darryn Peterson missed the Jayhawks’ 77-46 win over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Tuesday evening with a tight hamstring. Peterson has been dealing with cramping issues at the onset of his college basketball career, forcing coach Bill Self to limit his minutes in games.

Last week, Peterson rose to the occasion during the Jayhawks’ 87-74 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels. He tallied 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists in the ranked matchup.

Darryn Peterson’s Display Against Seth Trimble Bodes Well for NBA Draft Stock

During this week’s segment of “Locked on College Basketball,” analyst Andy Patton was blown away by Peterson’s game against one of college basketball’s toughest defenders, UNC’s Seth Trimble. Patton further broke down why the Jayhawks guard’s game bodes well for his draft stock, with NBA scouts watching his display in Chapel Hill.

“That’s one of the biggest key things for Kansas fans to take away and NBA Draft people watching Peterson,” Patton said.

“He had one of the best guard defenders in college basketball. It’s a well-known thing that Seth Trimble is an absolute dog at that end of the floor. For Peterson to be that good?”

“There are people who said before the season that Peterson has the chance to average like 25.0 points. Averaging 25 at a power conference program, at a program like Kansas is insane. But, if Peterson’s tough night against a tough defender is gonna net him an efficient 22, the ceiling is unbelievable for him.”

In the latest ESPN Big Board, Peterson is still the No. 1 prospect in the NBA Draft class of 2026, ahead of BYU Cougars star AJ Dybantsa and Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer.

During his postgame news conference after the win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Self gave an update about Peterson’s injury status and why he missed the game against the Islanders.

“He practiced Sunday, practiced Monday, and practiced today,” Self said. “His hamstring was tight this morning. So, I’m not going to risk that. Hopefully, it’s precautionary. I look forward to seeing him in practice on Thursday. At least we think that’s the case, but it was tight after he practiced today. We practiced this morning at 10, and he practiced. So, we didn’t anticipate this, but at the end of practice, he said it was tight. So, that told me no reason (for him) to go.”

Peterson is averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for the Jayhawks in two games played so far this season.