Tom Crean defends Darryn Peterson, shoots down narrative Kansas star 'doesn't want to play'

After Darryn Peterson sat out the final 17:22 of Kansas’ victory over Oklahoma State on Thursday, questions continue to swirl. The projected lottery pick has dealt with cramping issues throughout the year and has left multiple games as a result.

However, ESPN analyst Tom Crean pushed back on the idea Peterson does not want to play. He defended the Kansas star, acknowledging he’s working through something.

Crean said he’s not sure if the situation will have an impact on Peterson’s draft stock as the potential No. 1 overall pick. He called back to his experience with former top pick Anthony Edwards at Georgia and the “responsibility” that came with it.

However, Crean said Self has been through this before, and the Kansas coach’s comments Wednesday indicate Peterson is working through something. It’s just unclear what it is.

“I think the NBA will dig in hard, and I think if it is [a red flag], we’ll know when that time comes,” Crean said Thursday on SportsCenter. “Is it a red flag? It depends. He’s a young man. He just turned 19 in January. We seem to forget that. We want to call them all pros, but they’re still kids. Now, he’s making a lot of money, but there’s a lot going on here. I coached Anthony Edwards at Georgia. When you’ve got a guy that’s got a chance to be the No. 1 pick, that’s a heck of a responsibility. Bill’s had that before. He’s got it right now.

“There are people around him protecting him, there are people around him guiding him, there are people around him supporting him. But at the end of the day, when you watch him play – when you watch him with his teammates, when you watch him support his teammates – I don’t want to hear any of this nonsense that he doesn’t want to play or he’s not locked into playing. He’s going through something. It’s obvious. And I think when Bill said that, I think he’s making it kind of clear.”

Tom Crean: ‘We can all have an opinion’

Darryn Peterson has played in 15 games this season and has put together an impressive freshman campaign in that span. He’s averaging 20 points to go with 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists while putting himself in position to potentially go atop the NBA Draft.

But the cramping issues have come up throughout the year. Tom Crean noted that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s dealing with it in one area. Given the support Peterson’s teammates have shown, not to mention previous comments from Bill Self, he argued there appears to be more than what meets the eye.

“I’ve been around people who’ve had full-body cramps,” Crean said. “That is a tough deal. And it’s not an excuse. There’s so many things that go on on. When he said, ‘I thought we were past this,’ there’s a lot going on with this kid and none of us know. We’ve got a lot of amateur doctors and amateur psychologists out there dissecting that that is not the case. Now, they know what’s going on. You know who knows? His teammates know. And that’s one of the reasons they’re supportive of him. Bill Self has done a phenomenal job. He’s got two teams – he’s got a team with Darryn Peterson [and] a team without him. He has done a fantastic job of getting that team without him to be really good. I don’t think there’s any chance that kid doesn’t want to play.

“Do I think there’s more going on than we’re going to know? Yeah. Do I think it’ll come out down the road? Potentially, as he gets ready for the draft. I think the smartest thing that they can all do right now is understand this: You solve problems, you manage the limits. This is a dilemma. We don’t all know. We’re not all privy to it. We can all have an opinion, but there are issues and they’ve just got to keep managing it the best that they can and help guide him through it and give him the best support possible. That’s the bottom line, to me.”