photo by: AP Photo/Alonzo Adams

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) shoots as Oklahoma State guard Vyctorius Miller (5) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Stillwater, Okla.

The events of Wednesday night, when Kansas’ star guard Darryn Peterson exited a road win at Oklahoma State less than three minutes into the second half due to the latest resurgence of his cramping issues, exposed Peterson to the most thorough national backlash he has faced all season.

Peterson, a future top-three pick (at minimum) in the 2026 NBA Draft, had come in for criticism a week prior when he missed a clash with No. 1 Arizona due to flu-like symptoms, but this time around it reached a fever pitch.

ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith declared that “there is no team in hell that should grab Darryn Peterson No. 1. You cannot do it. The first ability is availability.” Elsewhere on the network, a more measured Scott Van Pelt said Peterson’s absences “(make) people wonder not about his talent but about those intangibles that can’t be measured.”

On TNT, former player Jamal Mashburn asked, “If he’s going to get into the NCAA Tournament and you’re going to ‘load-manage’ that part of it, why even be a part of it at that point?” And a Barstool Sports personality rather bluntly declared that Peterson “either hates playing the game or is listening to stupid people.”

Self had already, in a previous discussion about Peterson on Feb. 12, described the persistent narratives about his player as “B.S.” and directly repudiated the concept that anyone is engaging in “load management.” On Friday, he found himself back on the podium defending his player.

Self asserted that it’s accurate to say Peterson hasn’t finished games — the guard has missed 11 of 26 due to various ailments and has not been on the floor to conclude the vast majority of the remaining 15 — but that the reasons he’s heard national analysts provide as to why have been largely false.

“Those guys are paid, not to talk about our team or Darryn, but they’re paid to speak their opinions based on what they know from a sports standpoint,” Self said. “The basis of what’s being said, you can’t argue with it. He hasn’t finished games consistently. The reasons why he hasn’t finished or he’s saving himself for the NBA or ‘load management’ or that kind of stuff — to me, that couldn’t be more false, from that regard.”

Self did point out on Friday, though, that there is a very straightforward way for Peterson to silence his critics.

“Play,” Self said. “Finish.”

That’s of course if his body allows him to do so, which has not often been the case.

“If it doesn’t allow him to, then they’ll say something again the next game,” Self said. “But that’s the way to get people to quit talking. It’s not me saying ‘It’s not fair.’ I don’t think that really keeps anybody from having an opinion at a national level, or on this (local) level or any level, to be quite candid.”

Self was also asked — in light of some of the comments from Thursday — about the nature of Peterson’s devotion to the game. He said his player loves basketball and can’t get enough of it, and that over the course of Peterson’s life he’s put in more time working on his game than just about anyone else.

“I don’t know that we’ve had a guy that studies the game, has prepared himself for this, more so than what Darryn Peterson has,” Self said. “… I think that those are the things that’s probably hurtful as much as anything, to say those (types) of things.”

Peterson had strung together a series of seemingly cramp-free games between Jan. 31 and Feb. 18 before his setback at OSU. He has a chance to play to the finish on Saturday when KU welcomes Cincinnati to Allen Fieldhouse at 12 p.m.