🏀 Darryn Peterson Playing Time: The Kansas excuse timeline

🏀 Hearings: The Darryn Peterson situation continues
📝 Quick Links: National media chimes in after Peterson sits most of second half (again)

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

Hearings: The Darryn Peterson Explanations

There’s a lack of clarity around Darryn Peterson right now — and it just created a national media firestorm.

Stephen A. Smith this morning: “What the hell is going on with you?”

Jay Williams called Peterson an “extreme concern” for NBA GMs. Mark Titus suggested Peterson will have to explain all of this to front offices one way or another. Everyone has an opinion. Almost nobody has information.

I’m not even sure Bill Self has been equipped with the right information.

Catch up on how we got here: The Darryn Peterson Situation (Part 1)

I’ve Heard most of KU’s frustration has compounded from being genuinely surprised. I’m Hearing there have been multiple games where Self expected - and prepped - for Peterson to play when he didn’t.

Look at Self’s words:

Oct. 24 (Louisville postgame):

“Second half [Darryn] just couldn't move. Whenever he says he needs to come out, you know he needs to.”

Oct. 27 (Day before Fort Hays St):

"I don't think that we've quite remedied the situation yet. That's gonna be a big deal, if your best player can't finish games because of cramping or whatever it would be. So we've gotta figure that out."

Oct. 28 (Fort Hays St. pregame):

"Darryn will not start tonight because he didn't practice yesterday, just because he hasn't felt well. He's not really cramping, but he's like got a little bug or something."

Oct. 28 (Fort Hays St. postgame):

"He's dealing with the cramping stuff, but I think you know that, and not feeling well physically."

Oct. 31 (before Green Bay):

"He's fine. He practiced today at full speed. So I certainly don't anticipate holding him anymore from this point forward, you know, unless something else happens."

Nov. 3 (Green Bay postgame - cramps return):

"Once again, we couldn't really play him much second half at all. He said he felt it coming on."

Nov. 5 (Before UNC):

"It's concerning. We're not going to be nearly as effective with him playing 16 minutes a game. But it's something that we don't anticipate being anything that lasts... feel like we're in better shape than we were, obviously, a week ago."

Nov. 11 (Day before TAMU-CC):

"Everybody's practiced the last two days, so I haven't been overly concerned with that. I don't see a major issue moving forward."

Nov. 12 (TAMU-CC postgame):

"His hamstring was tight this morning. I'm not going to risk that. Hopefully, it's precautionary... We didn't anticipate this."

November 24 (Syracuse postgame):

“I’m hopeful soon.”

Dec 2 (UConn postgame):

“He is very close.”

Dec 22 (Davidson postgame):

“He will be [ready].”

Jan 24 (Kansas State postgame):

“I don’t see any reason that he couldn’t play (vs BYU).”

Jan 31 (BYU postgame):

“He’ll get that back quickly.”

Feb 12 (day before Iowa State):

“He’s got a string of bad luck.”

Feb. 18 (Oklahoma State postgame):

“We thought we were past it.”

When Self says “we thought we were past it” or “I didn’t anticipate that tonight at all,” it’s not just coach-speak. That’s where the frustration lives. And Self has struggled to completely hide it while also trying to protect — and push — maybe the best player he’ll ever coach. That balancing act between protection, demand, and surprise has contributed to the mixed messaging all season.

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