The bright side for Bill Self is that his Kansas team won’t be shellshocked should the NCAA Tournament roll around and potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson need to tap out of a game early yet again.
Self acknowledged being surprised that his uber-talented freshman once again exited a game early after suffering cramps during the No. 8 Jayhawks’ 81-69 road win over Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Peterson curiously exited the game with 17:22 remaining in the second half after playing just 18 minutes, taking himself out of the game by patting his leg after hitting a 3-pointer.
“I didn’t anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go. But we only got 18 minutes out of him. That’s disappointing because he could have had a really good night,” Self said. “One thing about it is it’s happened often enough that our guys have learned to play without him, even though that’s not the way we want to play, but certainly that’s not something we’re unaccustomed to right now.”
While Peterson is an elite talent and one of the premier talents in the country, a narrative is starting to build around his availability.
Peterson has only appeared in 15 of the Jayhawks’ 26 games due to injuries, and there have been multiple games when load management as become a hot topic.
He exited a Jan. 31 win over Baylor early in the second half, played just 24 minutes last Saturday in a loss to Iowa State this past Saturday after missing the previous game and then exited early again Wednesday.
The storyline is building such momentum that the TNT crew discussed his load management Wednesday night and ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt also recently dove into the topic.
Self has previously defended the freshman against any accusations, saying those narratives are “BS.”
He said after Wednesday’s win that the cramping issues are a “concern,” and added that Peterson would have exited the game earlier in the second half before doing so Wednesday.
“I thought we were past it, but obviously we’re not,” Self said of the lingering issues.
It would certainly be fair for Self to be frustrated since Peterson showed in those 18 minutes just how much he can take over a game, scoring 23 points.
Peterson is averaging 20 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists for a Jayhawks team (20-6) that has shown it can beat elite teams, having recently downed then-No. 1 Arizona without Peterson.
Any NCAA title hopes, though, likely ride on Peterson playing more than 18 minutes.
“You get into the NCAA Tournament and you are playing a team that’s just as good as you, you need to have all your best players available, so to speak,” Self said.
“So, yeah, all it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. So, yeah, it’s concerning, but I do think we’re making progress with it.”