After arguably being the most productive player per 40 minutes in all of college basketball last season, Kentucky big man DeMarcus Cousins is the most negatively talked about player at this year’s NBA Draft Combine. With college teammate and projected #1 overall pick John Wall impressing teams by showing off his quickness and athleticism, Cousins has arguably hurt his stock the most by showing up 30 lbs more than his listed playing weight(292 lbs-compared to 260 lbs), refusing to work out for some teams, and doing an interview in which some consider arrogant and selfish. Because of the issues with weight, a number of sites have already begn to compare Cousins to former players who were talented but who contiued to tip the scales until they were out of the league like Oliver Miller and Benoit Benjamin.
Once considered one of the Top 3 “can’t miss” prospects in the upcoming 2010 NBA Draft, along with Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner, Cousins has rubbed NBA GM’s the wrong way with his oft misunderstood style of expressing himself. During his lone season in Lexington, the man known affectionately as “Boogie” was initially known for his temper tantrums with coach Calipari along with an innate ability to drop double-doubles on opponents with ease. Despite playing in only 23.5 minutes per game, Cousins established himself as the nation’s best big man in the country by putting up 15.1 ppg, 10 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks as a freshman for the Wildcats.
As the regular and post-season came to a close, with Cousins helping to lead Kentucky to an Elite 8 finish, it was evident that Calipari’s guidance had begun to sink in as DeMarcus undoubtedly showed signs of maturing even as opposing teams began to deliberately get under his skin by throwing elbows and blowing up his cell phone with racist rants.
After some Draft Combine interviews, a number of internet mock drafts started to move Cousins down, because of what is perceived as an uneven temperament and bad attitude, even seeing him fall as far as the #7 pick by the Detroit Pistons. Cousins has the physical tools to be a star at the next level, but will his attitude hold him back? I for one feel that Cousins is a Top 5 talent who has the potential to be a franchise player. Sometimes having an attitude can be a good thing, like when a team needs a player to step up and take the last shot.
Take a closer look at the interview that everyone is talking about. Some may find it funny, others may cringe, but if anything, Cousins is entertaining. Listen and watch as he reveals that Pau Gasol is his favorite player, he hopes Shaquille O’Neal is still around once he makes it to the NBA, and gave a “no comment” when asked if he would enjoy playing for John Calipari if he becomes an NBA head coach. Surely you’ve heard of Manny(Ramirez) Being Manny, but here is Boogie Being Boogie.
You can check out part 2 of his interview here.
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
