KU’s Joel Embiid participates in practice

After nearly a week off, Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid was officially back on the court Sunday. Embiid took part in practice for the first time since last Monday’s loss at K-State.

It came one day after Kansas coach Bill Self said Embiid would return to action on Tuesday at Texas Tech.

Embiid has been recovering from a nagging knee sprain and back injury. There was no structural damage, Self said, but Embiid needed some time to get his body feeling healthy again. Embiid is averaging 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds during his freshman campaign.

“He could have played (Saturday) if he needed to,” Self said. “But he wasn’t totally pain free. But we’ll get him back out there and see what he can do.”

It’s been a frustrating sophomore season for Andrew White III, who had his first four points of conference play during Saturday’s 95-65 victory over TCU. White had expectations for his second year on campus. Most players do. But after starting the season in the rotation, he’s since been passed by freshmen Brannen Greene and Conner Frankamp. A hip pointer injury in December didn’t help his cause.

“It didn’t go accordingly, I’m not happy about it obviously,” White said on Saturday. “But I don’t complain. I don’t make calls home complaining.”

For now, White, a former top-50 recruit, will continue to work to earn minutes. But it appears he might have to wait another year for his opportunity.

“I think I’ve been doing everything in practice,” White said. “I think there’s just a lot of guys that Coach (Self) has more faith in. He would have a better answer for that question than me.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2014 at 6:11 PM with the headline "KU’s Joel Embiid participates in practice."