The No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks are coming off a three-point overtime loss to their rival Kansas State Wildcats Monday night and now they are adding injury to insult with the news that freshman sensation Joel Embiid “needs some time off” with knee and back injuries.
"“Joel is beat up. He’s beat up,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “I’m not going to make an excuse for him because you have to perform. But he’s going to need some time off. I don’t know how much time, but he’s going to need some time off.”"
Self did not say whether Embiid would miss Saturday’s game against TCU, but considering they beat them by 22 on Jan. 25 at their place, they could go without their 7-footer against the Horned Frogs who are still in search of their first Big 12 win.
Embiid has struggled in February and has failed to play more than 25 minutes and has scored 30 total points this month as Kansas has gone 2-2. A little time off could do wonders for Embiid to get back to the form he displayed early in the year and help Kansas in their bid to earn a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament.
Embiid has been mentioned as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and has thought about returning to Kansas to continue his development and bypass the draft. He is averaging 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.