By JAMES MADDEN
Kansas head coach Bill Self was asked about the ongoing narratives and controversy surrounding star freshman and potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson’s frequent inactivity on Thursday, including him missing Monday’s win against No. 1 Arizona.
“I’ve read some of the narratives out there about (Peterson) and it’s really not remotely true. When you’re honest, people don’t believe you and when you don’t comment on it, people create their own narratives,” Self said Thursday. “Was his hamstring legit? Hell yes. Was his cramping legit? Yes. Did he turn his ankle bad? Yes… He’s had a string of bad luck. Those narratives are BS.”
Former NBA star Jalen Rose said recently on TNT that he thinks Peterson’s unfortunate injury luck may affect his stock in this summer’s NBA Draft.
“I feel like it will affect his draft stock,”Rose said on TNT. “He’s still a terrific performer….He’s a premier player, but there are certain players unfortunately that are injury prone.”
In the 13 games Peterson has played in for the Jayhawks, he is averaging 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting 41.9% from three-point land.
“The narrative is BS, in many ways,” Self said. “Load management? This kid hadn’t talked about that one time. That’s when you play four games in seven days… not when you play one half a week.”
Kansas travels to No. 5 Iowa State on Saturday, with Peterson expected to return, but his status still officially unclear.
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