The Health Of Darryn Peterson’s Legs Remains A Mystery

Darryn Peterson, freshman at Kansas and top prospect in the 2026 NBA draft, has something keeping him off the floor. Those deeply invested in either this Jayhawks season or Peterson's NBA future might find themselves close-reading the cryptic remarks of Kansas head coach Bill Self and watching the superstar guard abruptly disappear from competitive games. Skeptical and angry fans have circulated images of a benched Peterson sitting on a chair, a supposed symbol of his aloofness from the team. The obvious context is that Peterson, a 6-foot-6 combo guard with outlandishly pure ball skills, is just a few months out from earning generational wealth. How much is he willing to risk for the sake of a college basketball campaign?

Peterson has appeared in six of the Jayhawks' 15 games to date, two of them within the past week. Self has said that his star player already had a hamstring injury going into the college season. Peterson appeared in the team's first two games, then missed seven games across November, with the absences attributed to the balky hamstring. He returned to play two games in December, only to be shut down again; Self said the issue was "quad cramping," distinguishing it from the hamstring.