Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, the projected No. 1 pick in next summer's NBA draft per ESPN, will miss Tuesday's game against Duke in the Champions Classic due to a hamstring injury, the school announced.
"[Peterson] continues to make progress from his hamstring strain," Bill Self said via X. "He will be reevaluated at the end of the week."
It's a significant development for a high-profile matchup between a pair of blue bloods at Madison Square Garden. Cameron Boozer, a star for No. 5 Duke and son of former Blue Devils star and NBA standout Carlos Boozer, and Peterson are among a small group of young talents who hope to hear their name called first by Adam Silver in June's draft.
Peterson's absence removes some of the luster of the highly anticipated matchup between No. 24 Kansas and No. 5 Duke even though Self hinted Saturday that the freshman, who has already missed the team's past two games, might be sidelined for a longer stretch due to his hamstring injury.
The buzz about the NBA prospect started before the season when Peterson rattled off 21 points in a 22-minute stretch during his team's exhibition win over Louisville. He finished with 22 points in a loss to North Carolina on Nov. 7, the most recent time he played for the Jayhawks.
Now, Kansas will turn to other players to handle a Duke team that boasts another elite recruiting class. Boozer, Dame Sarr and Isaiah Evans are listed as projected first-round picks in ESPN's latest mock draft, which includes five Duke players overall.
For Kansas, both Flory Bidunga (17.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.5 BPG) and Illinois transfer Tre White (12.0 PPG) are averaging double figures in scoring. Self gave Peterson the keys to his offense from the moment he arrived in Lawrence, but the team will have to wait to see how he progresses before he can attempt to fulfill the lofty expectations attached to his freshman season.
Kansas will face Notre Dame and Syracuse on Monday and Tuesday in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas before a matchup against UConn a week later.
