No two ways about it — DP is ready

San Diego — On the brink of Darryn Peterson’s first and surely only run through the NCAA Tournament, one thing hit me about where the standout freshman sits entering the most crucial time of any season.

He’s ready.

The 6-5 guard who led the Jayhawks in scoring this season has played in seven straight games without any of the issues that plagued him throughout the season before that being a part of the story.

That’s obviously a good sign. Beyond that, though, there’s a much better sign that jumped out at me as an indicator of why DP is as prepared as he can be for the Big Dance.

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At a time when players and entire teams tend to feel a different type of pressure than they’ve ever felt before — from in-game adversity to extra attention and pressure to win — Peterson is about as ready as anyone could be to handle of that.

Why?

Because he’s been doing it all season.

Every game, every week, every time he did anything, he became the story.

He was questioned, criticized, called out and clowned. And all he did through all of that was keep going.

On Thursday, he talked — yet again — about how he handled all of that at times undue attention, and it all came down to the same thing that he told us all season long.

“Just trying to be optimistic through it all,” he said. “Like I said before, people were saying a lot of crazy stuff about it, making up rumors. But, yeah, I leaned on my teammates, leaned on my coaches. We knew what was going on in the locker room. So I really didn't care what was going on.”

He added: “It (the outside noise) wasn't super-bad at first, but then I feel like it kind of went global for a little bit. Like after the (NBA) all-star break, it was on ESPN and everything. That's a part of the game. I knew what I was getting myself into coming to Kansas. This is the life that I chose for myself. So every part of it I have to accept. Just to be able to go through adversity, now I know I can get through it.”

That’s not Darryn deflecting. That’s Darryn being Darryn.

He’s a superstar of a basketball player with an insanely bright and promising future. He can do things on the basketball court, already at age 19, that most people never can. And he’s one of those dudes who does it all without looking like he even breaks a sweat.

Smooth is the most common word used to describe a player like that. But his smoothness extends to everything he does. His role as a teammate. His actions off the court. His ability to handle whatever is thrown his way.

Smooth, smooth and smooth.

When that’s your baseline, that tends to put you in the best possible position to handle what comes with the NCAA Tournament, and that’s great news for DP and the Jayhawks.

He showed complete happiness and was the picture of poise on Thursday at the arena, laughing and joking with teammates throughout the day, enjoying the moment to be a part of all of this and looking as comfortable as anyone could in the new-to-him environment.

This is big stuff. As big as it gets before he jumps to the NBA. And he’ll need his teammates to play well and help him out in some pretty important ways as this tournament goes on if Kansas is to advance.

But when your best and most talented player is wired like Peterson — to act and think and believe that this is all still just basketball — you can pretty comfortably bank on the fact that he’ll be ready.

“I'm super-excited,” Peterson said Thursday. “This is something I've dreamed of since I was a little kid. To be a part of it this year is huge for me and my family.”

His shots might not fall. He might not be perfect. But if that’s the case, it’s hard to foresee it being because he wasn’t ready.

He is. He has been. And now that he’s finally healthy and feeling better than he’s felt all season, don’t be surprised if he goes out there and shows what you wanted and expected to see all along.

“We've got a player that is a true potential difference-maker,” Kansas coach Bill Self said Thursday. “Unfortunately, we haven't had him at full speed the vast majority of the year. But he tells me — and I believe it and I see it — that he's moving (great) and this is the best that he's felt all year. I'm excited about moving forward with our full complement of guys closer to 100 percent.”

Self added: “The biggest thing is, hey, Darryn, you're going through some stuff and you're going to go through more stuff in life and in your future. There's still an opportunity to get the last laugh, but you have to prepare every day for that later on down the road. And this is the later on down the road.”

Fourth-seeded Kansas and No. 13 seed Cal-Baptist will get things started as one of the last games in the first round of this year’s tournament.

Tipoff is slated for 8:45 p.m. central time Friday night on CBS at San Diego State’s Viejas Arena.

The winner will advance to Sunday’s second round to take on the winner of the 5-12 matchup between St. John’s and Northern Iowa, which will be played at roughly 6:10 p.m. in the same arena just before the Jayhawks and Lancers get going.

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com