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By Cole Sullivan
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There hasn’t been a player under a bigger microscope this college basketball season than Kansas Jayhawks true freshman Darryn Peterson.
Peterson is projected to be the top overall pick in the NBA draft — and rightfully so. When he plays, he’s remarkable on the basketball court. But the key phrase there is “when he plays.”
This season, Peterson has already missed 11 games and sat out portions of others due to issues such as cramping and lower-body tweaks. Early in the season, these absences made sense from a precautionary standpoint, but fans began speculating about his interest in the sport or his overall effort.
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For the first time this season, Peterson broke his silence on the ongoing backlash directed at him, delivering a strong message to critics who question his love for the game.
"Everybody’s got an opinion on it," Peterson told ESPN. "But basketball is my life. If I could have been out there every game this year, I would have. If you would have asked me last year what my goals for this year were, I would never mention missing games. So all this stuff kind of just happened, but I’ve got to deal with it."
For fans concerned about Peterson’s status heading into the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks, his message was clear: "Let’s do it. That’s the goal."
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Across 16 games this season, Peterson is averaging 19.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, while logging roughly 27.2 minutes on average.
The Jayhawks are preparing for a massive home matchup on Monday night against No. 2 Houston, who is likely to drop in the rankings following a weekend loss to No. 4 Arizona. Kansas, currently No. 8, is also expected to slide in the upcoming AP Poll after falling to Cincinnati over the weekend.
As of now, Peterson is expected to be on the court Monday night, with no injury designations moving forward barring any unforeseen setbacks.
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