Earlier today, the latest AP Top 25 poll was released, and the Kansas Jayhawks were dropped down to the 22nd-place in the country. Why? Well, the Jayhawks suffered their first conference loss of the season in an 81-75 loss to the UCF Golden Knights. Ironically, Saturday’s loss boosted the Golden Knights up to 25th in the nation.
When looking at that game in a vacuum, the Jayhawks began to suffer when Darryn Peterson was removed with just under 11 minutes to play in the game. Up to that point, Peterson had notched a phenomenal 26 points while on the court for just 23 minutes.
This continued a long string of injuries that have kept Peterson off the court. When Peterson exited on Saturday, it was deemed that his legs were “bothering him.” It didn’t help that Peterson was on a minutes restriction. Self later admitted that if Peterson was fully fit, he would have been subbed back in as the game entered crunch time.
Peterson’s time off the court has led fans, pundits, and everyone in between to have their own thoughts on what the best course of action for the freshman should be, with there being prominent discussions that Peterson should shut down his season. Earlier today, Self shut down those rumors.
“No, not at all. There are people that have their own opinions on that. But no, there hasn't been one thing talked about that,” quoted the two-time national champion coach.
“So you know, we are hoping it doesn't get to that, obviously. But you know, this is something he's going to have to deal with, regardless of timing and all that stuff, moving forward. So hopefully we can help him get his arms around that and deal with it.”
This should come as a relief for fans who feared that Peterson’s career would not even last this season, yet it doesn't solve the biggest problem, which is still getting No. 22 healthy.
Kansas next takes to the hardwood against the TCU Horned Frogs on Tuesday, December 6th, in what will be their next chance to get back to even in conference play. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN.
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