LAWRENCE — Despite being able to make it through a pair of games in recent days, Darryn Peterson’s availability has remained a significant topic of national conversation.
It didn’t help that the first of those two games was a loss at home against Cincinnati, when Peterson finished with 17 points, four rebounds and an assist. It helped some, that the second was a win at home against No. 4 Houston when he had 14 points, four rebounds and an assist. Availability has been an issue for him this season, for different reasons, as he’s missed 11 of the games No. 14 KU (21-7, 11-4 in Big 12) has played this season.
So, it was no surprise that Kansas coach Bill Self alluded to that talk on Tuesday during an appearance on his “Hawk Talk with Bill Self” show. This discussion came after the win against Houston. And it also come as the Jayhawks looked ahead to a game Saturday on the road at No. 2 Arizona.
“I think he’s been OK,” Self said. “I love Darryn, but I don’t think that he’s played as well the last two games as what he was playing before. Does he have it in him to do that? Yeah. It’s just, there’s a lot of stuff thrown at him. Can you imagine being a freshman in college and having ESPN ‘First Take’ talk about you, and you never, ever, say a word about defending yourself. Everyone just talks about you. And that’s hard. It’s hard. He’s actually done a really nice job in trying to eliminate those distractions, but you know it’s hard.”
Self noted he has defended Peterson in the past, but also detailed he thinks people are tired of hearing him do that, too. That is, before Self reiterated that Peterson’s gone through things many people don’t go through and people have generated opinions without knowing all the facts. The only answer to all the attention it seems, from Self’s comments, is for Peterson to continue to play consistently.
So far this season, Peterson is averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game across 17 starts. Many of his absences occurred during non-conference play. If not for the national conversation to die down, then at least for Kansas to reach its ceiling as a team this season, the Jayhawks need Peterson to keep playing and be the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft that he’s been described as.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball’s Bill Self addresses ESPN talk of Darryn Peterson