Kansas star Darrin Peterson offered an absurd explanation to ease some teams' concerns ahead of next month's NBA Draft.
For many basketball evaluators, there was no more exciting NBA prospect than the Jayhawks guard in the 2025-26 college basketball season as the freshman was one of the most prolific scorers in the country. He has a great mid-range game, but can also be a force at the basket and from three. But he doesn't need to be a ball hog and can be dangerous without it.
Additionally, the 6-foot-5 guard has a wingspan similar to that of a 6-foot-10 player, and this, along with his athletic ability, plays a significant role in why he is also a difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball. He has the potential to become a perennial All-Star at the next level. However, he had one major challenge stacked against him in his lone season at Kansas: his availability.
Of the Jayhawks' 35 games, Peterson missed 11, and there were instances when he asked to leave games early while on the heater. This led to questions about how dedicated he was to winning, as the crux of it all often seemed to be the excuse.
Well, this week, Peterson tried to calm some doubters about possibly being the No. 1 pick in June's draft with an explanation of cramp issues. The 19-year-old told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that "a new round of blood tests and other tests" by doctors during the pre-draft process revealed that creatine was the cause of his cramps.
Darryn Peterson feared he was dying during convulsive episode in September
"I had never taken it before, but after the season, I took two weeks off and they did tests that showed my baseline levels were already high," he said. “So, when I took the dose they said [a process of increasing a dose over time to create maximum benefit at the beginning of taking a supplement]"This would have made the levels unsafe."
Peterson revealed that his cramps got so bad at a Kansas boot camp in September that he actually feared he might die.
"I took it to the training room and begged them to call 911," Peterson recalled of the cramps he felt in his legs, stomach, back, arms and hands. "They were trying to give me an IV, get a vein to get me back hydrated. But I was convulsing so hard they couldn't get the vein out. I thought I was going to die on the training table that day."
In recent mock drafts, Peterson is projected to go to the Indiana Pacers (No. 2) or the Brooklyn Nets (No. 2) in Round 1 of the NBA Draft.
