It wasn't an easy freshman season for Darryn Peterson, and certainly not the one he imagined at Kansas. The former five-star recruit came to Kansas and was supposed to be the one to get the Jayhawks back to the National Championship, but instead, his season was marred by injuries and a persistent cramping problem.
That cramping problem has now most likely cost him the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and it certainly didn't make him the most popular player in the media. Kansas fans and the media would get so frsutrated witht he cramping problem with Peterson, sometimes even stating he was just load managing and did not want to get hurt before going to the NBA.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Peterson finally has an answer about his cramping issue and is sharing it for everyone to know.
Darryn Peterson's cramping issues stem from high-doses of creatine
Basketball has always been everything to Peterson, always been what he loved to do, and he planned to bring that love to Kansas. When Peterson committed to Bill Self and the Jayhawks, he told the legendary coach he would do whatever he needed to on the court to bring a championship back to Lawrence and be out there with his teammates in any way that was needed.
Fans wondered if that was the truth as Peterson missed 11 games in his freshman season and pulled himself out of numerous others due to the cramping issue. It seemed like a problem that was sudden during the season, but the story goes a lot deeper.
Peterson began struggling with the cramping back in September after Self's weeklong bootcamp, and the first episode landed him in the hospital. Peterson talked about the experience, saying that it started with his legs, then his stomach, back, arms, and hands, putting his entire body into a deep cramp.
The former five-star recruit rushed to the training room, begging them to call 911, knowing something was wrong. Once the trainers couldn't get a vein to get him IV fluids, he was rushed to the hospital, where ER doctors were able to find a vein and begin multiple rounds of fluids, believing they were treating him for severe dehydration.
"I thought I was going to die on the training table that day," Peterson said about the experience.
Little did Peterson know that it was due to high doses of creatine that caused the cramping condition. Peterson said he began taking creatine when he got to college to help increase muscle strength, power, and growth, but once the college season ended, he took two weeks off to do medical testing to hopefully find a reason for it all, and it was due to his high dosing.
Peterson also shared about how he went about dealing with the cramping going forward, and it all makes sense now. The young freshman said the reason he would pull himself out of games was due to the fear of his body cramping as bad as it did that first time, and not wanting that to be seen on TV.
For a young kid to be dealing with this, it makes sense that he tried to deal with it the best way he could, without having any sort of concrete answer as to what was happening. Peterson did figure out how to navigate the condition later in the season, but by then, his image in the media wasn't the greatest.
Peterson didn't speak a lot on the matter, especially not having any answers, and it wasn't until the Big 12 Tournament that he shared the story of his full-body cramps. Even head coach Bill Self couldn't speak about the cramping issue due to HIPAA rules, but Self did admit the problem caused Peterson to not have the rhythm on the court or with his teammates.
It wasn't easy for Peterson throughout the season, dealing with an unknown medical issue while also hearing all the noise from the media. Luckily, Peterson has a strong support system he leaned on, and now, with some answers, it should get him ready for the next level in the NBA.
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