Darryn Peterson Cramping Issue: Should Kansas Jayhawks Fans Be Worried?

The Kansas basketball team put on a dominant defensive display on Tuesday night, holding Fort Hays State to just 35 points in a blowout victory.

The Jayhawks were without their best player and Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, Darryn Peterson, due to a cramping issue that kept him sidelined.

His absence was viewed as nothing more than a precautionary move, as he experienced cramping in the second half of the Louisville game and this scrimmage wasn't worth risking any further injury.

Still, anytime a team's top option is dealing with a new ailment just days before the regular season opener, it is going to raise some eyebrows.

Don’t Worry About Darren Peterson’s Cramping -- Yet

Peterson is playing among the best athletes in the world and is projected to be a top-3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. It would be silly to think that cramping, of all things, would be the injury to shorten the beginning of his college career.

Still, could this be something we hear about a few more times this season?

From what head coach Bill Self said during his press conference on Monday, Peterson's conditioning is slightly behind where KU expected it to be at this point in the year.

The Jayhawks are set to open the campaign against Green Bay on Nov. 3, but Peterson had trouble finishing a full 40-minute game against Louisville last week. He played only 10 minutes in the second half while managing the cramping issue.

We don't want to get all speculative about Peterson's situation, because nobody knows his body better than he does. If he decided that it was best to sit out the exhibition to gear up for the season opener, that was a smart decision by him.

Coach Self also didn't seem too concerned about it during his pregame radio appearance before the Jayhawks hosted FHSU.

"I’d rather have him full go Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday before we play Monday. So I doubt he plays tonight," Self said before the game, which he ultimately sat out for. "But it’s not because of anything major. He just doesn’t feel well. He just doesn’t have his strength. I don’t know if it’s a bug going around or what."

Hopefully, this all brushes away within a few days, and KU fans never have to hear about it again. All we're saying is that these small issues before the season can surface later on if they aren't handled the right way.