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Jay Williams reacts to Darryn Peterson's limited playing time in second half vs. BYU

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels02/01/26ChandlerVessels

Freshman phenom Darryn Peterson made a big impact on Saturday’s 90-82 win for Kansas against BYU. However, most of his damage came in the first half as he was limited to only three minutes in the second half due to injury.

Injuries have been an issue for Peterson all season, and they have caused him to miss more than half of the season to this point. They also have led to him being limited in a handful of other matchups, including Saturday against the Cougars.

Saturday’s instance led to former Duke guard and college basketball analyst Jay Williams offering up his take on the frequent limitations for Peterson. He posted on X to express his disbelief at the lack of playing time in the second half.

Peterson still totaled 18 points for the game, all of which came during the first half. He still finished second of the team in scoring behind Bryson Tiller, who had 21 points.

After the game, Kansas coach Bill Self explained that Peterson experienced cramps that kept him out of the second half. This was similar to a game earlier this month against TCU in which Peterson exited with two minutes remaining and did not return the final possession of regulation. He again exited after that as the game went into overtime, never to come back.

Overall this season, Darryn Peterson is averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His impact has been evident despite his limited action, and he is still expected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Kansas still managed to pull off the victory and improve to 16-5 (6-2 Big 12) despite the second half absence of Peterson. They’ll move on to a matchup against No. 11 Texas Tech on Monday and the freshman’s status will be worth monitoring going into that matchup.

Darryn Peterson addresses issues with cramping

Earlier this month, Peterson addressed the issues with cramping that he has had since returning from injury earlier this season. It’s taken some time to get back to a full playing pace, and it’s clear he’s still adjusting.

“I probably wasn’t capable [of dunking] some of the other games,” Peterson said speaking to the media for the first time since October. “But yeah, I think that’s a good sign for me.”

Since Big 12 play began back on Jan. 3, Peterson has missed one game against Kansas State, and he’s been playing through the cramping issue that caused him to miss time earlier in the year. He’s finally starting to look like himself again.

“It was definitely frustrating [missing time] because I want to be out there with my guys,” Peterson said. “I want to be out there for coach and also for myself at the end of the day. But it is what it is. I just kind of got to keep going forward. I’m getting better every day so that’s all I can ask for.

“I’m feeling better. It’s coming back slowly to me. I was out for a while but every game I feel like I’m feeling better.”