After Darryn Peterson’s return, Bill Self says fans have wrong idea about KU star
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Darryn Peterson returned despite flu-like illness, scoring 17 points in KU's 80-60 win.
- Coach Bill Self limited Peterson to 23 minutes, citing fatigue and recovery.
- Peterson's presence eased KU offense; Tre White praised his ability to draw defenders.
Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson’s status for Sunday’s Border War battle against Missouri was in question as late as Saturday afternoon.
His availability for the Jayhawks’ 80-60 victory over the Tigers at T-Mobile Center had nothing to do, however, with the strained hamstring that had forced the freshman sensation to miss seven of KU’s first nine games.
“He’s sick. I was nervous he wasn’t going to play,” KU coach Bill Self said after the 6-foot-6 Canton, Ohio native produced 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting with three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 23 minutes. He was 3-of-9 from 3.
“To be honest with you, this time yesterday when he’s laying on the training room table, we didn’t even know if he’d play,” Self added.
And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.
“Then I’d have to tell you guys again that something came up, and you guys would say I’m (making stuff up), which I’m not at all. I’ve been 100% honest,” Self said, noting Peterson had flu-like symptoms.
“I thought he did fine,” Self noted. “I didn’t plan on playing him 17-and-a-half minutes the first half. I wanted to play him about 14. And then when he got however many minutes he got to start the second half, he was gassed. Had it been a close game, it may have been different, but I wasn’t going to try to play him over 27 anyway. So I thought why even put him back out there?”
So Peterson, who received some treatment on the bench on his right leg courtesy of trainer Bill Cowgill the final portion of the contest, checked out of the game for good with 11:16 left and KU up 54-40. Self said Peterson did not tweak the hamstring.
“I think we do that a lot,” Self said of trainer Cowgill working with players during games. “But no … he (Peterson) said he had nothing in his hamstring or back of his knees. Nothing.”
Peterson, whose first shot of the day resulted in a 3-point basket, scored 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting the first half as KU led 33-25 at halftime.
“Actually I didn’t think we played great with him. I thought we stood, and there wasn’t any ball and body movement, and the way they guarded the ball screens and hard hedged, we didn’t play behind it and take advantage of it. I didn’t think we played great,” Self said.
Self spoke with Peterson before the game about his long-awaited return and how he might approach the contest against the rival Tigers, who fell to 8-2 on the season. KU improved to 7-3.
“I think he was trying to fit in. I told him, ‘Hey, you’re sick. It’s your first day back. You haven’t played in a month or whatever, let it come to you.’ I don’t think he’s a ‘let it come to me’ type of guy,” Self said with a smile.
“So he’ll be better next time. I thought he was fine this time, but I don’t think we did a lot to help him and vice versa.”
Self said talk on social media about Peterson’s injury perhaps being part of a load management situation in advance of the June draft “frustrates him. It’s the world we live in today’s times, though.
“It’s B.S. though,” Self added. “That kid is over there getting four treatments a day for 45 minutes every treatment. That kid spends more time shooting on his own than anybody else maybe that I’ve ever coached. That kid wants to be out there so bad. And then whenever I say whatever I’m going to say, it’s not enough for me to say it’s day-to-day, which that’s what it’s been, day-to-day. So there’s always a reason why somebody can say something negative.”
Self went on: “If he had a compound fracture, nobody would say anything because you can see it. This you can’t see. And fortunately, it wasn’t bad enough that it was to keep him totally out because he did practice, but it wasn’t good enough that he could play the way he needs to play.”
KU forward Tre White, who had a huge game with 20 points and 13 rebounds, said it was great to have Peterson back on the court after playing seven straight games without him.
“Man, you can see, even though he was limited minutes tonight, he was still super efficient. I had a bunch of wide open shots that I normally didn’t get,” White said. “He just makes the game so much easier. He attracts a lot of bodies whenever he’s playing. So you know, that just makes it easier for us. So glad to have him back.”
KU will next meet North Carolina State at 4:30 p.m. Central on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
