Kansas is coming off the biggest win of its season thus far, as it upset undefeated Arizona on Monday night. Star freshman Darryn Peterson missed the game after being a late scratch due to illness. This has led Peterson to be ripped by some people in the media.
Now, head coach Bill Self is giving a timeline that led to the absence of their star player, per Mike Vernon of KU Hearings.
“Well, Darryn was sick against Utah and wasn’t very effective by his standards at all, but he didn’t feel well. I mean, he's got all the doctors and everybody working with him beginning before the game Saturday, and practice Sunday it got worse. But adrenaline is going to kick in and he’s going to be able to play,” Self began.
Peterson played 34 minutes in the game with Utah, the second most of the season for the forward. He scored just 14 points, though, the fewest of the season so far.
“He said he could and everything, but I was told there’s an even chance that he wasn’t going to probably feel up to doing it. So he did shootaround on Monday, could tell he didn't feel well, but he tried. And then came out there to do the warm-up, the stretching, the soft stuff that you do before you actually start warming up, and I thought he was out there,” the Kansas coach continued.
There was the expectation that Peterson would play, and there was no indication that he was not feeling well before the game. This is also consistent with what Bill Self said directly after the game, noting his Peterson was 50-50 to play.
“Then when I went back in the locker room right before we addressed the team, five minutes before we addressed the team, I said, ‘What do you think?' He said, ‘Oh coach,' and the doctor said, ‘No, I can’t let him go.' So that’s where that was,” Self concluded with.
This was the first indication that the decision was not made by Self or Peterson, but the team doctor. Regardless of the decision, with the amount of time Peterson has missed this year and his inability to finish games, his toughness and drive have been called into question. This will be a consistent question until Peterson consistently is on the court, regardless of the defense given by Self.
Kansas is now 19-5 on the season, and has another big-time match-up on Saturday. They will visit Iowa State on Saturday, and will hope to have Peterson back in the lineup.
