What Kansas HC Bill Self Said About Missouri Before Border War Game

Kansas head coach Bill Self spoke with the media on Friday and spoke about a number of topics, including the injury status of star freshman Darryn Peterson.

These are some things the Hall of Famer had to say ahead of the Missouri game this Sunday.

On Darryn Peterson's return timeline:

"He's practiced the last two days. So, he should be available unless you know he has a setback between now and game time. But we're approaching it like he'll be available."

On how he has discussed the Border War rivalry with his team:

"We’ve talked about it as a group and addressed it as a group."

On the game being on a neutral site instead of a home court:

"I don’t have a problem with it. If I’m not mistaken, we put the series off a year during COVID. It was supposed to start in Kansas City and end in Kansas City, so we moved the Kansas City game to this year. It was supposed to be neutral, home-home-home-home, then neutral."

On what the Missouri rivalry means to him:

"Well, you got to understand, there was a rivalry with me with Missouri before I got here, because I coached at Illinois. So I understand it and I understand that the energy between the fanbases, which maybe at times spreads to animosity or anger, I think it’s good for the game to play against your rivals. We’ll look forward it. This would always be one of the most looked-forward to games on our schedule every year, and certainly that hasn’t changed at all."

On if he wants to renew the Border War once it expires:

"You know what, I don’t know. And it’s not because of me - do I like the game? Yes. But I also like going to the Players Era Tournament and getting money for the guys’ NIL. I also like those types of things too, so I think everything has changed on how you approach scheduling. So we’ll approach it in a way that’s best for us moving forward, and my administration will have more to say on that than I actually will."

On what makes Missouri a good team this year:

"They’re 8-1 and they’ve beaten everyone pretty handily. And then, Notre Dame, they had a chance to win, and probably should have won the game. … I like their team. I always liked their point guard, I thought he’s been good against us when we played, and of course Mark [Mitchell], we recruited him hard, so I’m familiar with him. He’s a lot like Boozer in a lot of ways in that he’s so good at driving and drawing fouls."

On what he anticipates Elmarko Jackson's role to be when it's all said and done:

"I have no idea. I'm going to play the guys - see, this is not an NBA roster. You can't look at it and say, 'This guy is playing 28, and this is when I'm subbing this guy, and this guy is playing 27.' I'm not going to do that. But certainly, he's certainly shown that he can be an offensive spark for us, and if he continues to do that and make easy plays, his minutes will obviously go up, there's no doubt about that. But I don't have a fixed minute. If I was going to say something, I'd say north of 20, but I don't know."