Kansas Jayhawks’ star Darryn Peterson blames “mind-stuff” for an up-and-down freshman season in which he missed 11 games. The guard says he wasn’t fully himself until the final few games of the season.
Peterson said after Kansas’ last-second loss Sunday to St. John’s that his issues stemmed from both physical as well as mental issues.
“I was hurt for the majority of it,” Peterson said. “Not hurt, but there was just some mind stuff. I wasn’t really myself really until the end of the year. I guess whatever people see in these last games is kind of me.”
After missing 11 games this season and playing in less than 30 minutes in a large portion of the Jayhawks’ games, Darryn Peterson averaged 36.5 minutes per game in two NCAA tournament games for Kansas. He averaged just 29 minutes per game in the regular season. Peterson also led the Jayhawks in scoring during the NCAA tournament with 24.5 points per game.
In February, Kansas coach Bill Self admitted to implementing load management with Peterson, citing injuries, illness, and subpar conditioning. Considering how much money Darryn Peterson was earning, his absences from the court raised many eyebrows.
In March, Peterson tried to explain why it often seemed that he, not Bill Self, was deciding when and how much he would play for the Jayhawks. He said he was dealing with full-body cramping that was “traumatic” for him to work through. He said the cramping issues dated back to September during the basketball program’s annual boot camp.
Will Darryn Peterson turn pro or will he return to Kansas?
As for whether he has played his final game for the Jayhawks, Darryn Peterson hasn’t made that clear yet.
“I’m not sure if it was my last,” Peterson said. “I still have to talk to my family. Yeah, I’m not sure what next year holds.”
There is a good chance that if he decides to go pro, he will be the first player drafted. However, his appearing in just 24 of a possible 35 games this past season, plus his penchant for asking to be taken out of games this year, might change that.
“He’s an incredible talent, he’s an incredible prospect,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said this week on Get Up. “Having said that, in that game, on that stage, against that team, I want him to take over the game,” Greenberg said. “To me, sometimes, he just disappeared in the game. The guy is a ridiculous shot-maker; he can do it all… But he doesn’t work as hard as he needs to work to get freed up. Special talent, but in that environment, in that game, a game you must win against St. John’s, you need to take over the game, you need that mentality… And that is my concern with Peterson, and that’s why I wouldn’t take him number one.”