NBA draft prospect Peterson links college cramps to creatine use in 2026

Top NBA draft prospect identifies high-dose creatine as the cause of his severe cramping issues during his freshman college season.

Prospect's troubling cramping issues One of this year’s top NBA draft hopefuls revealed that mysterious and at times severe cramping troubled much of his freshman campaign at Kansas. Fresh testing after the college season led medical experts to trace the problem to his heavy use of creatine, a popular supplement known for boosting muscle strength, power and development. 'I’d never taken it before arriving on campus,' he explained. After a two-week break from action, bloodwork showed his baseline levels were already elevated, which meant the dosage protocol likely pushed his system into unsafe territory. ## Harrowing hospital episode The frightening pattern began in September during coach Bill Self’s annual weeklong training camp. Cramping started in his legs, then spread to his stomach, back, arms and hands before seizing his entire body. 'I made it to the training room and just started begging them to call 911,' he recalled. Staff tried inserting an IV line but could not find a vein due to the intensity of the spasms. Only after reaching the hospital were doctors able to stabilize him with multiple bags of fluids intravenously, treating what was initially diagnosed as extreme dehydration. ## Ongoing fear and determination Even after discharge, the memory of that full-body convulsion haunted him. 'Whenever I felt anything similar coming on, my first thought was that it might escalate again,' he said. 'I can’t let that happen and end up embarrassed in front of everyone watching.' The uncertainty about the root cause weighed heavily; this had never been an issue before basketball consumed his life. 'My biggest thing was I’m going to keep trying because we don’t know what’s wrong and we can’t just assume something is wrong,' he noted. He committed to stay on the floor whenever possible, telling Coach Self at the outset, 'I’m going to do whatever I can to help you win a championship and be there for my teammates.' ## Statistical impact on freshman season All told, he missed eleven contests and stepped off the court early in several others. By season’s end he managed to log over thirty minutes in eight of Kansas’s final nine regular-season outings. Across twenty-four games he produced averages of twenty point two points and four point two rebounds while connecting on thirty eight point two percent of his three-point attempts. ## Media silence and eventual disclosure He rarely addressed the media about the problem, he admitted, because he lacked an explanation and had not yet gone public about the ambulance trip that followed the full-body cramp. Not until the Big 12 tournament in mid-March did he share the story with reporters, though he still did not know what triggered it at that time. HIPAA rules kept coach Bill Self from discussing specifics or confirming any details about his health. ## Coach’s perspective on missed action After the interview, Self explained that the repeated stops and starts 'definitely affected him—conditioning, rhythm, team flow, a lot of things. I think it did impact him differently.' He imagined Peterson entering every game expecting to feel right, only to be disappointed repeatedly. ## Teammates’ supportive silence Many Jayhawks witnessed the ambulance ride after the convulsions but kept the episode private out of respect. They also noticed his reliance on preventive IV fluids, electrolyte mixes, massage therapy and other recovery tactics to remain available. 'My roommate Bryson Tiller had my back, and so did Melvin Council Jr.,' he said. 'They’d try to defend me but didn’t know what to say except, 'If he could be out there, he would be. He’s giving it everything.' ## Diet and rehab overhaul They saw me in rehab every day before and after practice—massages, carb loading because they thought my glucose might be low, electrolytes, Liquid IV, LMNT. I adjusted my diet, did meal prep, tried everything I could think of to stay on the floor. ## Family’s unwavering support His father, Daryl Peterson, a former player at the University of Akron who coached him for years, kept reminding him, 'We are going to get to the last laugh whenever it is. We know what kind of kid you are. This is not going to define your life. Don’t get too high or too low. We’ll figure it out.' His mother, Natatia, had harder moments; at one point she called crying because she felt helpless. 'She told me, 'I always had an angel watching over you, but right now I just don’t know what to do,' he recalled. There were times I wanted to quit when the world seemed against me, yet they stood by me and it meant the world.' ## Former coach’s defense of effort His former AAU mentor Sam Mitchell checked in regularly throughout the year. The ex-NBA Coach of the Year with the Toronto Raptors said the public criticism never aligned with the player he had mentored within Phenom United, the organization run by Peterson’s father. 'That hurt me and upset me because I know this kid,' Mitchell remarked. 'I don’t even call him a kid anymore—I treated him like a man from day one.' He praised Peterson’s relentless dedication, adding, 'Excuse my language, but that motherf----- worked his ass off. He loved this game. I had to tell him to rest sometimes… I once chewed him out mid-game when he blocked eight shots; in the league you have to save energy to help the team, not go crazy blocking every attempt.' ## Resolution and path forward Now with a clear explanation in hand, he reports feeling like himself again after discontinuing creatine. He has been training in Los Angeles for the upcoming NBA combine and draft without any recurrence of the cramping episodes. His focus now centers on refining his shooting and point-guard abilities. 'I played mostly off the ball last year, partly because I wasn’t fully myself,' he explained. 'Coach was trying to find ways to keep me effective without overtaxing me. As point guard you have to bring up the ball and do everything.' He reflected on what might have been if injuries and complications hadn’t disrupted his freshman season. 'When I was out there I felt I did okay, but there was another level people didn’t get to see.'