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DeMarcus Cousins

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DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins with the Kings in 2012
No. 15 – Sacramento Kings
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1990-08-13) August 13, 1990 (age 34)
Mobile, Alabama
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High schoolLeFlore (Mobile, Alabama)
CollegeKentucky (2009–2010)
NBA draft2010: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–presentSacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Men’s basketball
Representing  United States
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Spain Team

DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Kentucky, where he was an All-American in 2010. He left Kentucky after one season, and was selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft with the fifth overall pick by Sacramento. In his first season with the Kings, Cousins was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He won a gold medal as a member of the United States national team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014, and was honored as an NBA All-Star in 2015.

High school career

Cousins was born in Mobile, Alabama and attended LeFlore Magnet High School in Mobile.[1] He was named to play in the 2009 McDonald's All-American Boys Game; he had 14 points and 8 rebounds.[2] Cousins also played in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland and the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden where he scored 10 points for the black team.[3] Cousins led LeFlore to the Alabama class 6A Final Four against Hillcrest that beat Austin High School to progress to the state championship; falling short to future college teammate Eric Bledsoe and Parker High School.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Cousins was listed as the No. 1 power forward and the No. 2 player in the nation in 2009.[4]

College career

Cousins first committed to Alabama-Birmingham on February 28, 2008, but never signed a letter of intent.[5] Cousins decommitted from UAB and committed to Memphis on March 9, 2009.[6] He reopened his recruitment after then Memphis coach John Calipari was hired at Kentucky. On April 7, 2009, Cousins decided to follow John Calipari to Kentucky.[7] He signed his letter of intent on April 15. At Kentucky, Cousins averaged 15.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Led by Cousins and John Wall, the Wildcats reached the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Kentucky 38 38 23.5 .558 .167 .604 9.8 1.0 1.0 1.8 15.1

Professional career

Sacramento Kings

2010–11

On April 7, 2010, Cousins announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fifth overall pick.[8] On July 7, 2010, Cousins signed his rookie contract with the Kings. The contract is worth about $7 million the first two years with a team option for the third and fourth years.[9] Cousins was named the Rookie of the Month for July during the NBA Summer League.[10] Cousins was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team at the end of the 2010–11 season.

2011–12

On January 1, 2012, head coach Paul Westphal sent Cousins home from the Kings' home game against the New Orleans Hornets, saying that Cousins was "unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team; it cannot be ignored indefinitely."[11] Cousins, who had been averaging 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game at the time of the dismissal, reportedly demanded to be traded from the Kings. Cousins later denied asking to be traded.

On January 5, 2012, Paul Westphal was fired from the Kings, leading many to speculate that the head coach's tumultuous relationship with Cousins was a factor in his being replaced.[12] On February 8, 2012, Cousins was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge. He played for Team Chuck, with a mix of rookies and sophomores.

2012–13

On November 11, 2012, the league suspended Cousins for two games without pay for confronting San Antonio Spurs color commentator Sean Elliott "in a hostile manner" after he criticized Cousins for attempting to bully Tim Duncan on the court.[13] Cousins was apparently informed of Elliott's remarks after the game. He left the locker room and waited on the court for Elliott to finish his post-game show before confronting him. Some criticized the suspension as overly harsh and based more on Cousins' reputation than what actually happened, while others said he needed to grow up and learn a lesson about confronting the media.[14] Cousins apologized to Elliott in person before a game against the Spurs in March 2014, which Elliott said he appreciated.[15]

On December 22, 2012, Cousins was suspended indefinitely from the Kings, who accused him of "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team." [16] The suspension was lifted on December 24, 2012.[17] The season was up-and-down for Cousins, who posted career highs in Player Efficiency Rating, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage, but led the NBA with 16 Technical Foul infractions, was ejected several times and suspended by both the league and the Kings.

2013–14

On September 30, 2013, Cousins signed a reported four-year, $62 million contract extension with the Kings.[18] After signing the contract, Cousins announced he would donate $1 million of his salary to the families and community of Sacramento.[19] He opened the season with a 30-point, 14-rebound performance against the Denver Nuggets.

On February 26, 2014, Cousins received a one-game suspension for punching Patrick Beverley in the stomach. On March 11, Cousins recorded a career-high 6 blocks, along with 13 points and 14 rebounds, in a 89-99 loss to the Detroit Pistons.[20]

2014–15

After averaging career highs of 23.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks over the first 15 games of the season, Cousins was diagnosed with viral meningitis on December 7, 2014.[21] He subsequently missed 10 games with the virus and showed no signs of a let up in his return to action on December 18 against the Milwaukee Bucks as he recorded 27 points and 11 rebounds in the 107-108 loss.[22]

On January 30, 2015, Cousins was named to replace the injured Kobe Bryant as a Western Conference All-Star in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game. Cousins' selection marked the first time a Kings player earned All-Star honors since Brad Miller and Peja Stojaković represented Sacramento in 2004.[23]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Sacramento 81 62 28.5 .430 .167 .687 8.6 2.5 1.0 .8 14.1
2011–12 Sacramento 64 62 30.5 .448 .143 .702 11.0 1.6 1.5 1.2 18.1
2012–13 Sacramento 75 74 30.5 .465 .182 .738 9.9 2.7 1.4 .7 17.1
2013–14 Sacramento 71 71 32.4 .496 .000 .726 11.7 2.9 1.5 1.3 22.7
2014–15 Sacramento 32 32 33.8 .481 .500 .806 12.3 3.2 1.4 1.6 23.8
Career 323 301 30.7 .464 .159 .727 10.4 2.5 1.4 1.1 18.4

International career

Cousins was a member of the United States men's national basketball team that won the gold medal in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "DeMarcus Amir Cousins". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  2. ^ "Wednesday's McDonald's All-American Game box scores". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. April 2, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  3. ^ "Big men shine in Jordan Brand Classic". ESPN. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  4. ^ DeMarcus Cousins – Yahoo! Sports
  5. ^ "Top basketball prospect DeMarcus Cousins commits to UAB". Blog.al.com. February 29, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  6. ^ Seth Davis, SI.com (March 8, 2009). "Prep standout Cousins commits to Memphis". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  7. ^ Name, Author (April 9, 2009). "DeMarcus Cousins To Kentucky". Slamonline.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "DeMarcus Amir Cousins". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  9. ^ "Kings sign top draft pick Cousins". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  10. ^ "Kings' Cousins named Rookie of Month for July". Nba.com. 2010-07-18. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  11. ^ "Tweet by Sports Illustrated writer Sam Amick". twitter.com. January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  12. ^ "Paul Westphal fired after 2–5 start". espn.go.com. January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  13. ^ Players union appeals DeMarcus Cousins suspension
  14. ^ DeMarcus Cousins got a confusing suspension for confronting Spurs commentator Sean Elliott
  15. ^ DeMarcus Cousins delivers unexpected apology to Spurs broadcaster Sean Elliott for last season’s incident
  16. ^ Kings suspend DeMarcus Cousins
  17. ^ Kings reinstate DeMarcus Cousins
  18. ^ DeMarcus Cousins signs extension
  19. ^ Kings sign DeMarcus Cousins to 4-year extension
  20. ^ Notebook: Pistons 99, Kings 89
  21. ^ DeMarcus Cousins recovering slowly
  22. ^ Bucks spoil Cousins' return, beat Kings 108-107
  23. ^ DeMarcus Cousins Named to 2015 NBA All-Star Team
  24. ^ Team USA announces 2014 final roster: Lillard, Parsons cut
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