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Kansas star Darryn Peterson will likely be a top-five pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, but there was a time a few months ago when he didn’t think that day would come.
Peterson missed 11 games this season and had his time cut short in several others due to a series of cramp issues, but the worst came before the season even began.
Peterson told ESPN recently that he was taken to a hospital after practice in September with severe cramps throughout his body.
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Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson controls the ball against St. John’s Red Storm guard Oziyah Sellers in the second half of a second-round game of the men’s NCAA tournament at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California, on March 22, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
“I got to the training room and started begging them to call 911. They were trying to get me a vein to get the IV in and get me rehydrated. But I was cramping so bad they couldn’t get me a vein,” Peterson said.
“I thought I was going to die on the training table that day.”
After months of searching for answers, Peterson said high doses of creatine caused cramps.
Creatine, used to increase muscle size, is perhaps the most studied supplement on the market and has numerous benefits. But for Peterson, this led to a terrifying situation.
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“I had never taken it before [going to college]. But after the season I took two weeks off and had tests that showed my base level was already high. “So, they said that when I took the dose, the levels must have been unsafe,” he said.
Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson drives with the ball against Iowa State Cyclones forward Dominykas Pleta during the second half of the Big 12 basketball game on Feb. 14, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. (Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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“It made me a little nervous because I didn’t know what was causing it. Nothing bad had ever happened to me before. Basketball is my life. What I love to do. But something was happening and I couldn’t understand it.”
Peterson no longer takes creatine and hasn’t had any problems since. He even played at least 30 minutes in eight of Kansas’ final nine games last season.
Peterson’s lack of play, of course, drew criticism, but he did his best to play.
“They saw I was in rehab every day before and after practice. I got massages. I tried all kinds of things. I carb-loaded because they thought I didn’t have glucose or something. Electrolytes. IV fluid, LMNT. Changed my diet. Prepped meals. Anything I could think of,” he said.
Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson runs back after hitting a three-pointer against the Houston Cougars inside Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Head coach Bill Self even decided that playing without the ball would prevent him from overexerting himself, which could lead to more cramps.
Peterson averaged 20.2 points per game and is expected to be one of the first names off the board next month.
