Darryn Peterson's Availability Discussed by Kansas' Bill Self in Video, 'He Hasn't Finished Games'

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self told reporters Friday that Darryn Peterson can best challenge criticism of his freshman season by playing in more games.

The topic came up when Self was asked Friday if comments made about Peterson's limited availability this season have been "unfair."

"Is it fair, or is a lot of the things that they said actually true?" Self answered. "He hasn't finished games. The reasons why they say he hasn't finished games is 100 percent false, at least in 70 to 80 percent of the reasons... but the bottom line is, there is a way to change the narrative. Play. Finish.

"Now, if his body allows him to, fantastic. If it doesn't allow him to, then they'll say something again the next game. but that's the way to get people to quit talking. It's not me saying, 'It's not fair.'"

Peterson has appeared in 15 of the Jayhawks' 26 so far this season, and when available has regularly left contests early due to what Self has described as cramping.

When available he has averaged 20 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals with 1.6 turnovers in 26.9 minutes per game.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman still projected Peterson as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in his latest mock released Tuesday.

According to Wasserman, "durability and competitiveness have become talking points, but it doesn't sound like they're changing the minds of most who had him No. 1 to start the year."

Heading into this week, Peterson had most recently left a game early due to cramps during a Jan. 31 win over AJ Dybantsa and BYU.

Peterson had since appeared in three straight games without any known cramping episodes, although he also missed two games due to illness.

He then again exited early with cramps during a Wednesday win at Kansas State.

Self defended Peterson during his recent illness absence, saying on Feb. 12 the star freshman had been sidelined due to a "string of bad luck."

The Jayhawks coach expressed more frustration, however, following Peterson's early exit from Wednesday's game.

"I didn't anticipate that tonight at all," Self said after Wednesday's win, per KUSports.com's Henry Greenstein. "I thought he was good to go. But obviously we only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing because he could have had a really big night."

Self also said Wednesday, per Greenstein: "It's a concern. I thought we were past it, but obviously we're not. It's certainly a concern. You get into the NCAA Tournament, you're playing a team just as good as you, and you need to have all your best players available, so to speak.

"All it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. Yeah, it's concerning, but I do think we're making progress with it."

Kansas, which has gone 20-6 despite Peterson's inconsistent availability, is currently ranked eighth in the AP Poll heading into Saturday's home game against Cincinnati.

Self said Friday that Peterson is expected to play against Cincinnati, and that he hadn't had "any issues in practice whatsoever."