CHICAGO - Let the DeMarcus Cousins debate begin.
There are those that believe he's the best talent in the draft. Others see him as someone with a bad attitude that you'd want nowhere near your team.
The Kings don't want any player who would disrupt the locker room with a bad attitude or poor work ethic.
Based on time with Cousins today, I didn't get the sense he wouldn't work hard. He's competitive (he believes he should be the first pick in the draft) and is honest about his game (says his defense has to get better).
The Kentucky center spent a lot of time with the media today and I found him to be funny, serious and flippant all in the same conversation.
*He said if he weren't a basketball player he'd be a ... journalist. Clearly a joke, right?
*Cousins said his immature reputation is "not me" and he wants to prove that to teams.
"I tell them the truth," Cousins said. "I'm not that type of guy."
*When the topic of his college coach, John Calipari, coaching in the NBA came up, Cousins didn't even entertain the thought.
"I'm not here to talk about that," Cousins said.
One thing that stuck out for me is Cousins clearly cares about basketball.
That was evident when he was asked about his last college game, a loss to Da'Sean Butler and West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
"I think about it everyday," Cousins said. "The first person I saw when I walked in here was Da'Sean butler. It made me sick to my stomach."
And apparently Cousins doesn't let go of losses easily.
"I still think about my final four loss in high school," he said.
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Another prospect the Kings could find themselves looking at is Baylor forward Epke Udoh.
Today is his 23rd birthday, which makes him a lot older than a lot of the prospects. His offensive game is still developing, but he loves to play defense.
"I get excited for (defense)," Udoh said. "I think I did a good job of getting my teammates excited too."
Udoh (6-9 ¾, 237) was careful with his words, even asking was it OK to reveal his measurements from the combine.
Udoh said his friends compare him to Kevin Garnett, but he declared himself a "watered down" version of the Celtics star.
"I would really love to sit down with that man and talk to him," Udoh said.
Then Udoh took the talk to a philosophical place most of the prospects wouldn't when asked what he'd talk to Garnett about.
"Life," Udoh said. "They way you view life is the way you view the game."
--Jason Jones
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