With Kansas basketball star Darryn Peterson returning against Missouri in what ended up becoming an 8-60 win on Sunday night, he would only play 23 minutes, with many wondering if he was on a slight minutes restriction. While fans had been waiting for any update on the Kansas basketball star in Peterson, head coach Bill Self gives insight into the management of the freshman guard.
Scoring 17 points in the 23 minutes played to go along with three rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the victory over the Tigers, Self would say it is not because of the hamstring injury that has made Peterson miss time. Instead, Self would say it's because Peterson is “sick,” making sure to say that he is not “bulls*******.”
“I thought he did fine,” Self said when talking about Peterson's outing, according to 247 Sports. “I didn't think he pushed it. That's not because of his [hamstring], that's because he's sick. I was nervous he wasn't going to play. And then I'd have to tell you guys again, ‘Something came up,' and you guys will say, ‘I'm bulls******* you,' which I'm not at all. I've been 100% honest.”
Kansas basketball's Bill Self on Darryn Peterson's outing
As the Kansas basketball team has had success without Peterson this season, there's no denying his importance in making them extra dangerous, as in the three games played this season, he's averaged 20 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the field. Making six of his 14 shot attempts against Missouri, Self would go into his performance.
“I thought he did fine, but I didn't plan on playing him 17 and a half minutes in the first half,” Self said. “I wanted to play about 14, and then when he got however many he got to start the second half, he was gassed. If it had 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?' I thought he was fine.”
The expected No. 1 overall pick in the next NBA Draft, Peterson looks to continue to play games with the No. 21 Jayhawks (7-3) as their next contest is against North Carolina State on Saturday.
