‘Does he care?’ The question followed Darryn Peterson all year. He answers now

The day that turned the fairytale into a fancy drama has been on the thoughts of Darryn Peterson and people who care about him all season. Bill Self’s annual boot camp is a ceremony of passage within the Kansas program. No basketballs, simply conditioning. Get by means of that and also you’ll be prepared for something.

Peterson survived, however the subsequent week, after an everyday, regular follow, he crashed.

Full-body cramps. Forty-five minutes of ache like he’d by no means skilled earlier than, so dangerous it despatched him to the hospital, the place he acquired two IV luggage of fluid and was left questioning what had simply occurred to him.

“It was a traumatic experience,” Peterson stated.

That day has hung over his much-anticipated freshman season since. Eleven video games missed. Many others he left early. Yo-yo’ing out and in of the lineup. Every sport feeling like Groundhog Day. Peterson would look nice for a half, then the second half would begin and his legs wouldn’t really feel proper. Was it occurring once more? He’d sign to return out of the sport.

“As much as I tried to fight it and tell myself I was good, I kind of couldn’t,” Peterson stated. “The mind is the joystick, my dad tells me. You can’t beat your mind.”

It wasn’t simply the cramps both. He caught a bug in December. Then a sprained ankle in January. Then flu-like signs in early February earlier than a much-anticipated sport towards top-ranked Arizona, his motivation getting known as into question as a result of he’d warmed up that night time after which disappeared to the locker room.

A story took form for the participant who entered the season as the favourite to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft. What’s with this man? Does he actually care? Should NBA teams be worried? 

“The stops and starts definitely impacted him,” Self instructed The Athletic. “Conditioning, rhythm, team rhythm, a lot of things. I think it did impact him differently. If you can imagine going into every game believing that this is going to be the game in which your body feels right, and it just didn’t happen.”

Through most of it, Peterson and his household — who had a role in his return from injury, Self stated in December — stayed silent. Peterson appeared at a number of postgame information conferences however his answers have been transient. The context to his story was lacking. It left everybody to attract their very own conclusions. And the pressure seemed to accentuate in mid-February as soon as nationwide pundits like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith began to weigh in.

“I think it’s been a hard year for him, and a lot of it’s been because obviously his body didn’t feel as well. That’s all legitimate,” Self stated. “But also the narrative that some people put out, not believing that he was struggling? His body was not cooperating. And I think that was hard on him, even though I don’t know that he would admit to it.”

Self speaks up to now tense, as a result of the previous few weeks have (kind of) been regular. Peterson hasn’t requested to return out of a sport since a Feb. 18 win at Oklahoma State, when his seen sign to the bench took the scrutiny to a fever pitch and even appeared to depart Self stunned. But the Jayhawks are simply 3-4 over that stretch. There have been just a few snippets of every little thing clicking — for Peterson and his teammates — and different moments the place the Jayhawks seem like they simply began taking part in collectively.

Peterson has only one season at Kansas to make his mark, which these near him say is vital to him that he does.

But the highest of the hourglass is nearly empty. The NCAA Tournament begins this week. Kansas begins with 13-seed Cal Baptist on Friday in San Diego, then faces a possible matchup with Rick Pitino and St. John’s to even get out of the primary weekend.

Last Friday night time, as Kansas struggled to attain towards Houston, Peterson’s mother stood up behind KU’s bench and pointed at her watch.

“It’s time,” Peterson stated.

Self couldn’t comprise himself. When Peterson arrived in Lawrence this previous summer season, he was so good that Self began utilizing hyperbole he often tries to keep away from with freshmen, calling Peterson essentially the most ready participant for school basketball he’d ever coached — a listing that features Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Deron Williams.

Peterson seemed like the kind of participant able to delivering Self his third nationwide championship at Kansas. He might no less than erase the stench left by final season, when KU misplaced 13 video games and exited within the first spherical of the NCAA Tournament for the primary time since 2006.

At one in all his first summer season practices, Peterson stole the ball on three straight possessions. On the primary one, he obtained a dunk. On the second, he hit a pull-up 3-pointer. And on the third, he threw a lob to Flory Bidunga.

“He was just totally unfazed by any of it, because it felt normal to him,” stated Kansas Evans, a junior group supervisor at KU. “Like yeah, he really does that. That was just regular for him.”

Self and KU had little purpose to be involved about his bodily capacity. Peterson had simply come off a breakout season at Prolific Prep, one of many prime highschool basketball applications within the nation in Napa, Calif. Prolific Prep coach Ryan Bernardi known as his senior season a “year-long honeymoon.”

In head-to-head conferences, Peterson outdueled BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, as soon as scoring 61 factors on Dybantsa’s Utah Prep. He vaulted above the 2 gamers who have been as soon as ranked above him and was thought of the star of what has confirmed to be a traditionally good freshman class. And favourite to go No. 1 within the 2026 draft.

“Darryn was already kind of in a world of his own,” an NBA scout stated. “Then the conversation was, AJ’s probably (number) two, or maybe Boozer, but Darryn was in a different field.”

The narrative about his dedication didn’t but exist. In August 2024, Peterson attended Damian Lillard’s Formula Zero Elite camp in Phoenix, Ariz. Peterson arrived two days early for a exercise he was capable of manage with Lillard and Lillard’s coach, Phil Beckner.

After the exercise, Beckner drove Peterson and his dad again to their lodge and Peterson requested if they may do it once more the subsequent day. Lillard was taking the day without work to prepare for the camp, in order that wasn’t an possibility.

“No, no, no,” Peterson stated. “I’m not worried about working out with Dame. I need to work out with you again.”

“And I was like, holy cow, number one kid in the country, these guys usually come in with all kinds of arrogance, entitlement,” Beckner stated. “So I put him through a workout. Kicked his ass.”

Peterson was so dedicated that he satisfied Beckner to interrupt his “only pros” rule and prepare him persistently.

Bernardi was requested if Peterson ever cramped up at Prolific. “One time,” he stated, within the first sport towards Dybantsa. “Toe cramp.”

Peterson ate a mustard packet after which checked again in and made two huge buckets down the stretch, and it was by no means a difficulty once more.

There have been no points this summer season, both, when Peterson spent a number of weeks in Phoenix with Beckner, and as soon as once more, “I killed him,” Beckner stated. “The pace and the purpose of all our workouts were probably higher than any other high school or college kid who has been around our training program in the offseason. Hard, hard, hard, twice a day, and we didn’t have any issues.”

The honeymoon interval at Kansas continued all summer season, up till the September cramping incident. Since then, nothing has fairly been the identical.

Details concerning the aftermath of Peterson’s full-body cramping incident are nonetheless scarce; Self declined to speak about it, citing HIPAA. But the lingering results on Peterson’s thoughts, those he spoke about for the primary time final week, have been obvious early.

About 4 minutes into the second half of Kansas’ season opener, it arrange a play for Peterson: a flare display screen by Bidunga, who caught a ball reversal and turned at hand the ball off to Peterson. But one step off that authentic display screen, Peterson paused, walked gingerly away from the ball and pointed to ship it within the different path. On the opposite finish, Peterson seemed on the bench and tapped his chest, asking out of the sport. Twenty seconds later, Self known as timeout to examine Peterson out and he’d by no means return.

That second went missed, however because the video games obtained greater later within the 12 months, Peterson checking himself out of video games and sitting in crunch time turned a nationwide story.

Against BYU on Jan. 31, an enormous stage as a result of it was billed because the showdown between Peterson and Dybantsa, Peterson was spectacular within the first half. He confirmed a bit of little bit of every little thing, an isolation mid-range jumper towards Dybantsa, 3s off a pull-up, spot-up and flying off a display screen, after which, his wow second of the season, a posterizing dunk on the top of two BYU gamers.

Then, halftime, and … the sign.

Not even three minutes into the second half, Peterson missed a 3, went again to play protection and requested out of the sport. The Jayhawks gained, and he had 18 factors, however the noise began to get louder, from each followers and media alike: Why wasn’t he making an attempt to return within the sport?

Three weeks later, when it occurred towards Oklahoma State — Peterson making a 3 in entrance of the KU bench and turning to ask out of the sport, simply seen on TV — extra pundits weighed in, particularly, Smith and Kendrick Perkins on “First Take.”

“(His) agenda is not playing college basketball,” Perkins stated on the time.

Self even appeared stunned by what occurred towards Oklahoma State. For the primary time, he appeared a bit exasperated after the win.

“I thought we were past it, but obviously we’re not,” Self stated. “It’s certainly a concern.”

Self has additionally been quick to defend his player. When Peterson missed an early February sport towards Arizona due to sickness, Self pushed again, beginning to present some context — together with that Peterson had solely practiced at some point within the 9 days main as much as the BYU sport due to his ankle.

“The thing about it is, when you’re honest, people don’t believe you,” he stated in February. “And when you don’t comment on it, people create their own narratives. And you know what? I do the same thing about things I don’t know about. ‘Well, it must be this.’ ‘It has to be that, if they’re not going to talk about it.’”

Beckner, Peterson’s coach, visits him twice a month, they usually additionally examine movie on video calls the night time earlier than each sport. In latest weeks, Peterson has met whereas hooked as much as an IV to get further fluids in hopes it’ll hold the cramps away.

That model of Peterson strains up with the one these round KU’s program discuss.

“He’s very selfless. He’s about the people around him,” Evans stated. “The conversation rarely steers towards himself or what’s next for him. It’s more focused on today. What are we doing today? What does practice look like for us today? How are the managers today? He never steers the conversation towards himself or what his focus is next.”

Peterson has pushed again on anybody who suggests he’s simply looking forward to the NBA or solely cares about the place he’ll be drafted: “I’m big about being where my feet are.”

Because Peterson is stoic on the ground and on the bench, particularly within the video games when he’s checked himself out and never returned, that has led some to question if he actually cares.

But Peterson reveals his dedication by means of his work, Self stated. “The number of treatment hours and all the extras that he’s put in to put himself in a position to feel better, it’s been exceptional,” he stated. “It’s as good as we’ve ever had here. He wants it bad.”

KU assistant coach Jacque Vaughn stated he’s advised to Peterson that he dial it again some all year long to preserve his physique.

Darryn Peterson has lastly gotten a gradual run of wholesome video games, however Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament simply 3-4 in its final seven. (Ed Zurga / Getty Images)

Evans stated Peterson has essentially the most skilled routine of anybody who has ever entered this system. “We’ve had a lot of guys in my three years that have worked really hard,” Evans stated. “But I don’t know if anybody’s had quite the routine he has or been quite as consistent with the same little details on a daily basis as I’ve seen with him.”

Part of that routine: Taking the managers out to eat after each time they rebound for him. Hour-long ping-pong periods with the managers after follow additionally occur with regularity.

“He knows who’s there for him and who he can trust,” Evans, the scholar supervisor, stated. “And he is comfortable opening up around those people. He’s not too big-time. He knows that he’s good and he knows he has expectations, but he doesn’t let that interfere with his ability to just be kind to others.”

Peterson’s persona hasn’t actually been on show as a result of he’s hardly ever gone in entrance of the cameras this 12 months, however the narrative is slowly altering, helped by the fuller model he shared in an interview with The Athletic final week in KU’s locker room.

Mostly, although, it’s on the ground the place Peterson can actually change the narrative.

NBA scouts belief their eyes, they usually say there’s a distinction between Peterson’s highschool days and now. At Prolific Prep, Peterson obtained to the free-throw line extra typically than he has this season, obtained to the rim extra typically, and was rather more environment friendly as soon as he obtained there. When Peterson obtained round a defender final 12 months, he was creating separation.

Now that defender is usually staying on his hip.

It’s virtually like Peterson hasn’t totally been capable of step on the gasoline.

“He wanted to be out there so bad, he tried to pace himself,” redshirt sophomore Jamari McDowell stated. “I told him, don’t do that. Everybody had told him, don’t pace yourself. You’re just going to hurt yourself. His health is getting better for sure. He’s obviously looking better.”

In flashes, Peterson has. He had arguably his most spectacular outing but towards Kansas State within the common season finale, scoring 27 factors on an environment friendly 10-of-15 capturing. Peterson wasn’t as environment friendly capturing the ball within the opening spherical of the Big 12 event (5-of-17), nevertheless it was a throwback to highschool in his capacity to get to the road, making 13-of-16 free throws. Then got here the Houston sport, the place all of the Jayhawks seemed damaged, together with Peterson (14 factors on 3-of-11 capturing).

“I’m still getting in shape,” Peterson stated. “I haven’t played as many minutes, so you probably tell that by the shots that I’m missing. A lot of easy shots that I usually make, I miss now. I’ve missed a lot of games, so people have a lot more games than me, so I’m still adjusting.”

(Table supply: Synergy)

Beckner shares an previous lesson from former basketball coach Kevin Eastman, who used to say it takes two minutes to show one thing, two days to really feel comfy with it, two weeks to essentially use it.

“These last couple weeks, which is crazy at the end of the year, has been the most consistent his body has been,” Beckner stated. “Think about that, like all year and it’s at the freaking end. So he’s finally getting to his spots. He’s finally really attacking and his ball just isn’t going in.”

That’s been a merciless actuality of Peterson with the ability to lastly end video games. Over the final seven, he’s capturing simply 27.3 p.c from 3.

Peterson’s NBA stock has taken a hit, extra due to how he’s taking part in now than the truth that he sat out video games.

“Everything that’s going on with Darryn not playing well and not shooting it well during this time, it is definitely leaning people into AJ at one is a real conversation,” the scout stated. “AJ, what he’s been doing at his size, is different. But all this stuff that now is being made public that we knew, a lot of people in the media had said he doesn’t love the game, he’s not competitive and that other bulls—, we knew was all crap. But who goes No. 1 is a conversation now.”

That dialog might nonetheless change, the scout stated, if Peterson and the Jayhawks could go on a run within the event.

Recent outcomes do not inspire much hope. Over the final seven video games, Kansas charges because the 62nd-best group in school basketball with the 139th-best offense, in accordance with Bart Torvik. The Jayhawks thrive after they’re capable of get stops and play in transition, however the offense typically appears caught within the mud as soon as they’re pressured to play within the half-court.

Still, there’s hope that the Peterson from final summer season will lastly present.

A 12 months in the past at the moment, Peterson led Prolific Prep additional than the varsity had ever been within the nationwide event. And within the quarterfinals, he was having an unusually dangerous capturing sport, lacking his first six 3-pointers. With 13.8 seconds left, Prolific had the ball down 2. Peterson acquired a cross within the again court docket, took 4 dribbles and pulled up from 3 about eight ft behind the 3-point line, his ft on the mid-court emblem. He nailed it.

“He had an extra edge to him in the biggest moments,” Bernardi stated.

Has sufficient time handed for Peterson’s legs to really feel proper? For his rhythm to reach? For his teammates to look comfy subsequent to their star? For that edge to return?

It should, as a result of the race towards time is nearing the end line.

“I’ll take my chances,” Self stated, “with him being 100 percent.”