Kansas Jayhawks’ Darryn Peterson on track to play in Big 12 hoops opener Saturday
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Darryn Peterson practiced full speed five days and likely will start Saturday.
- Bill Self confirmed Peterson mixed with starters in practice and will start.
- Peterson missed two recent games with cramping and hamstring tightness.
Kansas Jayhawks freshman men’s basketball player Darryn Peterson, who has practiced at full speed since Saturday, will likely play against UCF in Orlando this weekend, barring any setbacks.
KU coach Bill Self made that known Thursday during a media session ahead of Saturday’s 1 p.m. (Central Time) game in Florida — the Jayhawks’ Big 12 opener.
Peterson —he has played in four of the Jayhawks’ 13 games while battling cramping in the legs and hamstring tightness — missed the Jayhawks’ last two games against Towson and Davidson. But he was able to practice for the past five days since returning with teammates’ from KU’s five-day Christmas vacation.
“Darryn has practiced. (It’s) same as before,” Self said, “but it’s at a little bit of a different level now as far as his explosiveness. So unless something unforeseen has happened, we should have our full complement of guys going into the game Saturday.”
Self said Peterson — again, barring a setback — would be in the starting lineup after running with the first team at practice the past several days.
“We’ve practiced, especially recently, with him and the starters together,” Self said. “It’s not going to be like we’ve been a well-oiled machine for two months, but there’s no excuses, either. I mean, he’s been out there with the guys. If you were to ask me, will we play better together in February than we do January I’d say yes, but that would be, regardless of any situation.
“That’s the case as teams continue to move forward and get used to each other, but (it’d) be nice to have our full complement of guys out there together.”
