Jazz's Darryn Peterson Fires Back at Ugly Kansas 'Money' Rumors

Darryn Peterson had plenty of people questioning why he wasn't playing at Kansas.

Some of the criticism went beyond basketball … and the Utah Jazz rookie hasn't forgotten what was being said.

Injuries, severe cramping and illness complicated Peterson's lone season with the Jayhawks. He missed 11 games, struggled to finish others and spent months searching for answers about what was happening to his body.

Yet while Peterson was trying to get healthy, he says some critics were questioning whether he even wanted to play.

And that bothered him more than anything.

In the first installment of his NBA season diary, published Monday by Andscape, Peterson told Marc J. Spears that rumors suggesting he wasn't playing because of money, didn't care about Kansas or was prioritizing himself crossed a line.

Peterson called them "character attacks and personal attacks," describing the accusations as "so far from the truth."

The basketball criticism? He could live with that. The accusations about his commitment to the program were another story.

And considering what Peterson says he endured physically, it's not particularly difficult to understand why.

The 19-year-old detailed one frightening experience during a Kansas practice, when cramps that began in his legs spread throughout his entire body.

For roughly 35 to 40 minutes, Peterson experienced severe muscle cramping before emergency responders arrived and transported him to the hospital.

He rated the pain above a 10 on a 10-point scale.

Peterson underwent extensive testing, adjusted his diet and received IV treatments while searching for an explanation.

As ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported in May, Peterson said doctors eventually traced the cramping to high-dose creatine supplementation on top of his already elevated baseline levels.

Despite everything, Peterson averaged 20.2 points per game — a Kansas freshman record — before Utah selected him second overall in June.

And for all the criticism he faced, Peterson doesn't seem to have much resentment toward the school itself.

"If I could, I would choose Kansas again," he said.

That's a pretty telling statement from someone whose lone college season was anything but easy.

Utah's evaluation of Peterson paints a different picture from the speculation that followed him at Kansas.

Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge previously praised the rookie's maturity, drive and desire, explaining that Peterson's disappointment with his Kansas experience had only strengthened his motivation.

Ainge wasn't responding directly to the rumors, but his assessment offers a different picture of the player some critics were questioning.

Utah didn't just spend the No. 2 pick on Peterson's scoring ability — the organization also saw a young guard motivated to make sure his next opportunity on a major stage went differently than his first.

Of course, that doesn't mean every concern surrounding Peterson has disappeared.

An 82-game NBA season presents a much different physical challenge than college basketball, and the Jazz will still need to see how their prized rookie responds.

But Peterson enters Wednesday's opener against Memphis with a chance to finally put some of those questions behind him.

He spent much of his only season at Kansas fighting to get back onto the floor.

Now, he can start showing that the health problems that interrupted his college career are behind him.

There will be plenty of questions for Peterson to answer throughout his rookie season.

Whether he actually wants to be out there shouldn't be one of them.