Darryn Peterson no longer has Bill Self defending his inconsistency

Kansas Men's Basketball head coach Bill Self once called Darryn Peterson the best player that he has ever recruited to his program.

Peterson, who is currently the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, indeed looks like the most talented player in the country whenever he is on the court for the Kansas Jayhawks. The problem, however, is that Peterson has not consistently played for Kansas at all during 2025-26 thus far.

After missing nearly a month of action early in the season following the first two games of his freshman campaign, the star prospect has dealt with several cramps. He has also reportedly suffered from issues with his ankle as well as his hamstring and quad. The guard also missed a game against then-undefeated Arizona due to illness.

But against Oklahoma State on Wednesday evening, after effortlessly knocking down a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, Peterson pointed to the bench.

This seemed to indicate that he no longer wished to play in the game, logging a season-low 18 minutes during the victory. Peterson has played just 15 of 26 games for Kansas and has only exceeded 30 minutes of action in just six appearances. This has led prominent sports media personalities like Stephen A. Smith to say that Peterson "cannot be trusted" on the court.

For comparison, Texas Tech sophomore and fellow projected first-rounder Christian Anderson has played at least 35 minutes in all 25 games he has played this season.

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr., who is another projected lottery pick from this freshman class, is averaging 34.6 minutes per game and dropped 49 points despite wearing a walking boot in the days leading up to the game against SEC rival Alabama on Wednesday evening.

Here is what Self said after the win over Oklahoma State:

"We've had this happen more than a couple of time. I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go. But obviously, we only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing, because he could've had a really big night."

Self also said that it's a "concern" for his team heading into the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The head coach has previously defended Peterson against the criticism surrounding his supposed "load management" at Kansas.

But this time around, you can hear the apparent frustration in Self's voice when he discussed the game on Wednesday.

Hopefully, for the Jayhawks and all fans who enjoy watching Peterson play basketball, he can stay on the court more consistently as the season progresses into when it matters most.