Darryn Peterson’s epic first half amazes Bill Self, propels KU to exhibition win
Bill Self in all his years of coaching basketball — that’s 23 seasons at Kansas and 10 combined at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois — has seen some incredible players put on eye-opening performances in their major college debuts.
But the 62-year-old Hall of Famer concedes he may have never witnessed a first game as impressive as the one turned in by freshman point guard sensation Darryn Peterson in KU’s 90-82 exhibition victory over Louisville on Friday night at KFC Yum! Center.
“Is the debut an exhibition game? If it is, no, I have not,” Self said when asked point-blank if he had ever seen a player as impressive in the first half of a college debut.
The freshman Peterson scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting (6 of 9 from 3-point range) with three steals in 15 minutes as KU built a 46-30 halftime advantage. The Jayhawks led by as many as 18 points before it was over.
“I remember Xavier Henry had 27 in his first game,” Self said, correctly recalling Henry’s 27 points against Hofstra in 2009. “But obviously this was different tonight. Those were hard points, and it was pretty special.
“He was on a heater there for a moment. I actually think, as much as anything, our fan base should maybe not be overly excited about our team but should be excited to get out and watch him (Peterson) play. No doubt about that.”
The fans get a chance Tuesday when Fort Hays State comes to Allen Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. exhibition tip.
Peterson’s six 3-pointers in a half would have been one off the KU record of seven in a half by Jeff Boschee (against Kansas State in 2000) and would have tied Quentin Grimes for most overall 3-pointers in a debut (vs. Michigan State in 2018) had Peterson’s game counted in the standings.
Peterson, the No. 2-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2025 by ESPN.com, could not be contained by No. 8 rated prospect Mikel Brown, Jr. who finished with 10 points on 2-of-15 shooting in 26 minutes
The only thing that could stop Peterson was a bout of cramps.
“They hit at halftime. He couldn’t move,” Self said.
So Peterson played just 11 minutes the final half. He finished the game with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting (6 of 10 from 3) with four rebounds, five steals and six turnovers in 25 minutes.
“I think the best thing about tonight,” Self said, “is we won the game with him on the bench in the second half and some other guys had to step up. That was a good thing for us.”
Peterson preferred talking about his teammates in an interview session outside the KU locker room with a pair of media members.
Flory Bidunga had 14 points and six boards for KU; former Louisville player Tre White, who was booed in introductions, 14 points and three boards; Bryson Tiller 12 points and seven boards; Melvin Council Jr., 11 points and four boards with four assists; and Elmarko Jackson 11 points off 9-of-9 free-throw shooting.
“KU basketball is back,” Peterson proclaimed.
“A lot of guys showed up. I barely played the second half and we kept the lead. Big shout out to my guys. They showed up,” Peterson said.
Peterson, 6-6 from Canton, Ohio, was asked to rate his college debut.
“I was just playing,” he said modestly. “My teammates told me to keep going,” he added of his hot streak from 3. They were telling me I was making shots. They kept feeding me, keep going. That’s what I did.
Peterson said he was far from perfect.
“I got to be better on defense,” he said. “I got beat a couple times but came up with a couple steals.”
Peterson said “definitely” when asked if he was fired up playing against fellow McDonald’s All-American Brown.
“Every time there’s a matchup we try to dominate it,” Peterson said.
His teammates encouraged Peterson to keep up the good work.
“Keep shooting,” freshman forward Tiller said of the message delivered. “I trust him. The whole team believes in him. So as long as he keeps shooting and doing what he needs to do, we’ll be good.”
KU sophomore Jackson — who played 27 minutes in his first game back from patellar tendon surgery — said this of Peterson: “I didn’t think much of it. I mean I’m used to it. I see it every day in practice. I’m just happy that everybody else got to see it, especially him going against the other star freshman, Mikel, just to prove he’s the top guard in his class.
“I feel everybody saw it today. Even though he didn’t play much the second half, he had 24 the first half and that’s pretty telling. I think there will be a lot more performances like that.
“The basket was like an ocean to him so when that happens he has to keep putting ‘em up,” Jackson said.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Darryn Peterson’s epic first half amazes Bill Self, propels KU to exhibition win."
