LOS ANGELES - While sports conspiracy theorists will argue that DeMarcus Cousins should have been voted MVP of the Rookie Challenge on Friday, or at least, co-MVP with his former Kentucky teammate John Wall, the Kings center (and their fans, owners, etc.) should be encouraged by his powerful performance. The guy was a beast - skillful, but still a beast. It was obvious from the opening tip that Cousins was determined to capitalize on his opportunity in the national spotlight, perhaps his way of countering the bad publicity of the recent week. There were the three steals, 14 rebounds, and 33 points, and my favorite play: the pass he threw off the backboard to a trailing John Wall for the game's final points. Imagine if he had the body of a 22-23 year old? The conditioning habits of a Doug Christie? If the Kings learned to move the ball and/or acquired more capable balll movers? The combination of Cousins' all-around big man's skills and Tyreke Evans' powerful game would be scary. Scary good.
One other interesting tidbit I picked up while chatting with Cousins and his other former Kentucky teammate, Eric Bledsoe. The Clippers backup point guard admitted that he would have stayed in college for his sophomore season if he had fully appreciated the rigors of the NBA. Cousins, seated along Bledsoe, seemed surprised by his friend's reply. Asked the same question, he hedged. He definitely did not seem excited by the prospects of hitting the books for a second year in college. But he thoroughly enjoyed being in Bledsoe's company. The two joked about a relationship that goes back to their high school years in Alabama, and when Bledsoe said that he and Wall enjoyed throwing alley oops to Cousins, the Kings rookie laughed. "Didn't see too many of those 'oops.' "
A final thought about Cousins: While Kings beat writer Jason Jones and I were talking the other day, he mentioned that when he visited Mobile, Ala., last summer for a profile on the rookie's hometown, he was surprised to learn that DeMarcus was friendly with many of the kids still attending his old high school. Again, at age 20, he is only two years removed from his days as a prep superstar.
