Kansas Still Without Star Freshman Darryn Peterson Ahead of Showdown vs. UConn
Kansas will once again be without one of its most dynamic young talents when it faces No. 5 UConn Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson, who’s been sidelined with a lingering hamstring injury, will miss his seventh straight game, head coach Bill Self confirmed.
Peterson hasn’t seen the floor since the Jayhawks’ early-season trip to North Carolina on November 7. While the highly touted freshman recently returned to practice, Self made it clear that Peterson still isn’t quite ready for game action. The coaching staff had hoped a final round of medical testing Tuesday morning - focused on strength and flexibility - would clear him, but that didn’t happen.
“Darryn is not going to play tonight,” Self said in a statement. “He is very close.
He has worked his butt off, but he is still not 100 percent. He is day-to-day.”
It’s a careful approach, and understandably so. Peterson isn’t just any freshman - he’s a projected top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and has already flashed serious scoring ability in limited action.
In just two games this season - against Green Bay and North Carolina - he averaged 21.5 points per game. That small sample size was enough to confirm what scouts and fans suspected: Peterson is the real deal.
Still, even without their star freshman, Kansas has found ways to keep rolling. The Jayhawks have gone 5-1 in his absence, including an impressive three-game sweep at the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas last week.
Wins over Notre Dame, Syracuse, and then-No. 13 Tennessee showed that this team has depth, toughness, and the ability to adapt on the fly.
The only blemish during that stretch? A hard-fought loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden - a game where KU held its own against one of the nation’s top teams. Now, they face another heavyweight in UConn, and once again, they’ll do it without Peterson.
Expect Kansas to stick with the starting five that’s become the new normal: Melvin Council Jr., Jamari McDowell, Tre White, Bryson Tiller, and Flory Bidunga. That group first took the floor together against Syracuse on November 25 and has shown growing chemistry with each passing game.
There’s also some good news on the injury front. Loyola-Chicago transfer Jayden Dawson, who missed most of the Vegas tournament with a wrist injury, is back in the rotation. His return gives KU another ball-handler and perimeter defender, which will be key against a UConn team that thrives on guard play and tempo.
As for Peterson, his next opportunity to return will come this Sunday when Kansas takes on Missouri at the T-Mobile Center. Until then, the Jayhawks will look to keep proving they’re more than a one-man show - even if that one man happens to be one of the most electric freshmen in college hoops.