Top NBA draft prospect Darryn Peterson has disclosed that high doses of creatine were responsible for the repeated cramping episodes he experienced during his freshman season at Kansas.
The 19-year-old guard told ESPN this week that doctors identified the cause after conducting bloodwork. Peterson, a potential No. 1 pick in the upcoming June draft, missed 11 of the Jayhawks’ 35 games in the 2025-26 season.
He said he had never used creatine—a popular supplement for building muscle strength and growth—before college. “But after the season I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high,” he told ESPN. “So, they said when I dosed, it must’ve made the levels unsafe.”
In September, Peterson was taken by ambulance to a hospital after a boot camp session when he experienced full-body cramping. “I made it to the training room and just started begging them to call 911,” he said. “They were trying to get a vein to get me the IV, get me back hydrated. But I was cramping so hard they couldn’t get a vein. I thought I was going to die on the training table that day.”
Throughout the season, Peterson said he lived in fear of another frightening episode. “Whenever I felt anything like that come on, my initial thought was that it might get to that again. And I can’t let that happen and be embarrassed and have that on TV and all that,” he said. “It kind of put me in a tizzy because I didn’t know what was causing it. Nothing has ever been wrong with me before. Basketball is my life. What I love to do. But something was going on and I couldn’t figure it out.”
Peterson averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 24 games (23 starts), shooting 38.2% from 3-point range and earning All-Big 12 second-team honors.
He said he has experienced no further issues since stopping creatine and has been training for the NBA combine, which begins Sunday in Chicago. “I’ve been thinking about how differently things could have been (at Kansas) if I didn’t get hurt or have all this stuff going on,” Peterson said. “When I was out there, I felt like I still did all right. But there was another level of me that people didn’t get to see.”
