Will Darryn Peterson play for Kansas basketball against UCF?

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self is well aware of how important it is to get off to a good start in Big 12 Conference play, and especially aware of the challenge UCF could present Saturday on the road in KU’s league opener.

Last season, No. 17 Kansas (10-3) lost at home in its Big 12 opener against West Virginia. Across the past two seasons, even though the Jayhawks are 3-1 against UCF, two of those wins KU had were each by four points. The Knights (11-1) have also started their season off well and have only lost once — at home against now-No. 11 Vanderbilt.

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So, it would be all the more important if KU freshman guard Darryn Peterson was able to make his return for this matchup. Peterson, who’s missed the past two games and has missed nine so far this season, has dealt with injury issues through non-conference play. And on Thursday, Self provided an update on Peterson’s current status.

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“Darryn’s practiced,” Self said. “So, same as before, but it’s at a little bit of a different level now as far as his explosiveness. So, unless something unforeseen happens, we should have our full complement of guys going into the game Saturday.”

Self cautioned that they’re not going to look like they’ve been a well-oiled machine for two months with Peterson on the court again, but also noted there are no excuses. They’ve had Peterson in practice working with the starters recently, and Peterson is set to be in the starting lineup with them against UCF. Any team, Self detailed, is going to be in a better position in February than it was in January as players develop more chemistry with each other.

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Peterson has averaged 19.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game across his four appearances this season. He most recently played in the December wins against North Carolina State and Missouri. He also played in the November win against Green Bay, and loss against now-No. 12 North Carolina.

Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. said Peterson looks amazing in practice, and that he can’t wait to have him back. But the November trip to Las Vegas also, in Council’s mind, showed him what they need to do to be successful if Peterson is unavailable. During the Players Era event in Las Vegas, KU won three games in three days against Notre Dame, Syracuse and now-No. 20 Tennessee.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Will Darryn Peterson play for Kansas basketball against UCF?