Kansas HC Bill Self Updates Darryn Peterson Status Before UCF Game

For the past couple of months, Bill Self has walked on eggshells when discussing Darryn Peterson's injury. The star freshman has dealt with lingering quad and hamstring cramps through the first two months of his collegiate career, and those issues have now extended into the conference season.

On Monday evening, Self made his first media appearance since Christmas and was asked about Peterson's status before the Jayhawks travel to Orlando to take on UCF. KU's coach had little new to add, saying only that Peterson has been practicing.

"Yes, he’s practicing," Self said yesterday. "I don’t have any status beyond that, but yes, he’s definitely out there practicing the whole time."

"I’m just going to go with what everybody believes to be what’s best," Self added. "I’ve been in agreement with everybody so far, but it’s getting to the point now where you know it’s — I think he’s really, really close — and hopefully he’ll feel really good the rest of this week of practice."

This update isn't much different from what Self has told the media over the past few weeks. He continues to insist that Peterson is nearing full health and practicing, but that does not guarantee he will be ready come game time.

There have been several instances where Self expected Peterson to return, only for him to remain inactive. These mixed signals underline the uncertainty surrounding tricky injuries like hamstrings, since the damage does not always appear on an MRI but can resurface at any moment.

After appearing in the first two games of the season, Peterson sat out seven consecutive contests before making a brief return for two games. However, the cramping returned late in those outings, and he was clearly not playing at full strength.

That is when his family reportedly decided that he would not return until he is 100% healthy. This information was revealed after KU's win against Davidson last week.

"We're in agreement with the family that he should not play until he feels good," Self said. "We're in agreement. I'm not inside his head or his body, that I can determine if he feels good enough or not. That's up to him. But he wants to be out there. He's just not quite ready."

Given Peterson's NBA Draft status and long-term upside as a pro prospect, that sentiment is understandable. Regardless, the Jayhawks will need him back sooner rather than later if they hope to make a deep run in Big 12 play this season, as they won't be able to go far without him.