Things have been a little rocky with the status of star Kansas guard Darryn Peterson lately, and Bill Self’s comments on the Hawk Talk Radio Show did little to ease the tension.
Self did mention that they are, “really, really close,” however, he finished the statement by saying, “Just because he’s practicing doesn’t mean that he’s 100%, although gosh dang, he looks good to me.”
It’s nice to see Self going to bat for his players, and Peterson’s hamstring issues are a tricky thing to deal with, but there’s just a ton of uncertainty surrounding the situation, and Kansas needs Peterson back healthy. When active, Peterson has looked like the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but the issue has been consistently nagging at him all year long.
His return timeline looks super vague as well, with Self mentioning that it could be “immediate” or it could be “a little while longer.”
Look, nobody is saying that Kansas can’t win without Peterson; they’re 10-3 overall with Peterson seeing minutes in just four of those games. Their only losses have come against ranked teams, including No. 25 North Carolina, No. 5 Duke, and No. 5 UConn. The games were decided by a combined 30 points, and that’s without Peterson, who is averaging nearly 20 points per contest this winter.
With Big 12 play just around the corner, the Jayhawks need Peterson back at full strength if they want to manage life in America’s toughest league. Thankfully, the silver lining is that Kansas plays just one ranked team (No. 3 Iowa State) in its first seven games. The other outings feature UCF, TCU, West Virginia, Baylor, Colorado, and Kansas State, only one of which is expected to reach March Madness in most projections.
Without Peterson, they’re pretty solid; with him, they’re on a whole new playing field. Until he returns, all eyes will remain on Bill Self, Darryn Peterson, and the ongoing injury battle.
