Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa. The two names that have circulated in NBA Draft prospect circles as the consensus top two players in the NBA Draft. While Peterson may have outplayed Dybantsa in their head-to-head matchup, Dybantsa is offering something Peterson can’t, and that’s availability. Peterson was a no-show against Arizona, the No. 1 team in the country, which has been a trend for him this season.
Peterson could be playing himself out of being one of the top picks in the NBA Draft as his mysterious injuries have taken center stage. Kansas doesn’t seem to need him, but he’s too good of a player to overlook. NBA scouts are keeping a close eye on Peterson, as it could determine his fate this summer.
Darryn Peterson’s injury history this season is mysterious and could backfire
Darryn Peterson was a game-time decision against Arizona after he had flu-like symptoms ahead of the top 10 clash. He ultimately didn’t play and it made a bigger microscope on him and how injuries have played a role for him this season. He apparently missed the second half against BYU earlier this year due to cramping and has sat out throughout this season to injuries. Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t make it a big deal.
Kansas being able to win without their best player is a good thing. It shows the Jayhawks are far better than they were a year ago, but it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want him to play. According to an On3 story, Peterson’s injury patterns have become a cause for concern.
After Monday night’s game, Self said that they were expecting Peterson to be a go, but he ultimately felt like he wasn’t ready to go. I’m not saying Peterson is intentionally sitting out games, but it just doesn’t make sense that in the biggest games of the season, he can’t even play a full game.
If he’s injured to the point that he’s not 100 percent, why is he sporadically playing? And if he isn’t as injured as he’s leading on, why is Self and Kansas just letting him dictate when he plays. Something about this is odd. It almost feels like Peterson is strategically choosing which games he plays to get just enough film to keep his draft stock high.
It’s the only thing that makes sense about his sporadic playing patterns. Is this a Ben Simmons situation where he’s facing an ailing injury that could blow up his draft stock or is this simply a player that is having some injury problems and managing it the best he can. NBA scouts seem to think it’s the latter.
Why NBA scouts aren’t out on top prospect Darryn Peterson despite glaring red flag
According to Jeff Goodman, a college basketball insider, at least one NBA scout believes the whole situation is getting blown out of proportion.
One NBA GM to @TheFieldOf68 about Darryn Peterson:
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 10, 2026
"I think people are overreacting. I don't know if anyone has enough info yet. It's not that big of a deal to me if he can play the last month of the season. We've got guys in the NBA who miss 2 months with a strained hamstring.…
"I think people are overreacting. I don't know if anyone has enough info yet. It's not that big of a deal to me if he can play the last month of the season. We've got guys in the NBA who miss 2 months with a strained hamstring,” Goodman quoted the unnamed NBA GM telling him.
While it might not be anything, I fear some of these scouts are missing some glaring red flags when it comes to how Peterson is handling this. Sure, every players’ body recovers differently and everyone has injuries that keep them out longer than others. This doesn’t feel like a typical injury situation, though. This feels like a player that is deliberately sitting out.
Almost as if he knows he’s going to be a top pick and just making sure he doesn’t get injured before he gets drafted. If that’s the case, this is a player GMs should caution drafting. This is approaching Simmons territory who just collected one of the most expensive checks for not playing.
That or it’s his arrogant attitude that’s going to make him a problem in the NBA. Either way, GMs should show more concern over what’s going on. Peterson has played in just 13 of Kansas’ 24 games played this year and in those games, has six with 30 or more minutes played. The most minutes he’s played in a game is 35. He has five games with 23 or less minutes played.
For context, Dybantsa has just four games with less than 30 minutes played.
I’m not saying something for sure is up, but something isn’t adding up and NBA scouts refusing to acknowledge that is only going to hurt him after they draft him to be the future and he ultimately becomes a dud. The signs are there; don’t ignore them.