Peterson returns despite flu-like symptoms, leads Kansas past Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas has proven over the past month that it can hang with the nation's best without Darryn Peterson on the floor.

The Jayhawks showed Sunday they are capable of beating anybody when he's out there.

The potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Peterson returned from a lingering hamstring injury to score 17 points in 23 minutes against Missouri, leading the No. 21 Jayhawks to an 80-60 rout of their biggest rival in the latest edition of the Border War.

Oh, and the high-scoring guard did it while battling flu-like symptoms that had developed over the previous couple of days. He played 17 minutes in the first half but just six in the second, when the Jayhawks had already built a sizeable lead.

“I thought he did fine. I didn't think he pushed it,” Kansas coach Bill Self said, “but that's not because of his hammy. It's because he was sick. I was nervous he wasn't going to play, then I was going to have to tell you again that something came up.”

Peterson had missed most of the exhibition season because of issues with cramps. He proceeded to score 21 points in 22 minutes in the Jayhawks' opener against Green Bay, then had 22 points in 28 minutes in a loss at North Carolina later that week.

But he hadn't played since because of the hamstring, forcing the Jayhawks to develop without their best player. And they had made some significant progress, winning three games against power league opponents in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, and putting scares into fourth-ranked Duke and this past week to No. 5 UConn in a nip-and-tuck game at Allen Fieldhouse.

It was after that game against the Huskies that Kansas played a half-court scrimmage between its first and second teams. Peterson had 14 of his side's 20 points in that practice, and he had three assists in helping to produce the other six.

“I mean, he was responsible for every point,” Self said.

Still, the Jayhawks' coach didn't know exactly what to expect on Sunday, both because of the time that Peterson had spent nursing his injury and the illness that had him laid up on the trainer's table just 24 hours before tipoff.

“Man, you could see, even though he was limited in minutes, he was super efficient,” said Kansas forward Tre White, who led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Tigers. “I had a bunch of wide-open shots I haven't normally had. He just makes the game so much easier. He attracts a lot of bodies when he's playing, and that makes it easier for us.”

Peterson wasn't available to talk after the game Sunday, but Self acknowledged that the time off had been difficult on him.

“I think it frustrates him. But it's the world we live in,” Self said. “That kid is over there getting four treatments a day, 45 minutes in every treatment. That kid spends more time shooting on his own maybe than (any player) I've ever coached. That kid wants to be out there so bad, and then when I say whatever I'm going to say, it's not enough for me to say, ‘It’s day to day,' which that's what it's been.”

Self then pondered the attention that Peterson — and his injury — have gotten this season.

Perhaps the scrutiny hasn't been entirely bad, given he will be constantly under it when Peterson heads to the NBA.

“How many people look at our guys and say, ‘We’re going to watch them grow up before our eyes?' If they're making a substantial amount of money? It's a different world,” Self said. “But it's also a world we say, ‘It’s so great for the kids.' But you also give people a reason to have opinions and talk. That's just the way it is. I think in his situation it may be good for him, because he's going to get talked about a lot moving forward. Hey, it's all preparation. I see it as part of the process more than I see it as a negative.”

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