The college basketball conference slate starts now. On January 3rd, the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks will be traveling to the University of Central Florida to take on the Golden Knights in what will be the beginning of an arduous schedule.
The early portion of the season has largely been positive. With star guard Darryn Peterson being injured and missing out on nine games this season, the burden of filling in Peterson’s scoring shoes has been filled by several different players, the biggest of which was when Melvin Council Jr. notched 36 points in an overtime 77-76 win against NC State earlier this month.
Yet things have not been perfect, and as Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports explains in his “Grading college basketball's top recruiting hauls: The hits and misses for Kansas, Duke, Arizona and more,” piece, Kansas was given an odd grade labeled “Incomplete” according to Trotter.
Below is an excerpt from Trotter.
“If Peterson can get right, Kansas can be a second-weekend team with room for more because of his brilliance. But he has to get his body right. Tyrese Haliburton had a calf strain and then tore an Achilles tendon. Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum both had calf issues before suffering Achilles' injuries, too. Leg injuries aren't anything to be trifled with, especially for a prospect like Peterson, who has millions on the line if he can be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.”
Looking past Peterson’s health, that leaves freshman Paul Mbiya, Kohl Rosario, Samis Calderon, and Corbin Allen. Allen was redshirted, so he will not see the court this season. Mbiya has seen limited minutes on the court thanks to the dominance of big man Flory Bidunga, who is averaging 14.7 points per game along with 9.2 rebounds. Mbiya has played a bit-part role, with his season-high in minutes being just 11.
Rosario has seen the court much more than Mbiya and has lived the typical freshman season, barring one big factor. The ceiling of a confident Rosario is sky-high. Twice this season, Rosario has totaled double-digit points with 13 points against Davidson and 16 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Both blowout wins for the Jayhawks.
Rosario’s shooting has been up and down, with a career average of 43.5%; however, it is evident that when he plays with his head up, he can glide to the rim and hit a three-point shot at a relatively consistent rate.
Calderon has sparingly seen the court this season with 46 minutes on the season. Calderon has averages .7 points, 1.4 rebounds, .6 assists on a 40% field goal rate.
Trotter finishes out his rating of Kansas with this statement.
“KU's entire outlook hinges on Peterson's status.”
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