The Cousins Enigma

Monster Mash has done a great job detailing the hilarity that has been the DeMarcus Cousins Q&A sessions between him and the media recently. So far Boogie has done a fine job in showcasing his likable yet quirky personality. Frank Hughes is a writer for Sports Illustrated and he wrote an extremely interesting piece about Cousins during these media sessions.

Hughes argues that Cousins and his agent need to give up the "nice guy" act and just need to come out as the tough, surly big man that he is on the court. The reasoning? GM's are having a hard time pegging Cousins. His on-the-court reputation proceeds him, and as much as we UK fans love him, it can be warranted in some cases. But that's why we do love him. He was our enforcer on the court and somebody to stand up for a teammate if something were to go down.

Cousins is not making it easy for himself. His workouts have been lackluster, he has not been interested in giving members of the media one-on-ones and he is leaving NBA teams with more questions than answers when he does one-on-ones with them. He has one giant factor going in his favor at the moment that is keeping him in the top 5: his unquestionable talent. He averaged 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds in 23.5 minutes of play last season at Kentucky. He is the was the most productive points/rebounds per minute guy in the NCAA last year.

While Boogie will always remain a kind of folk hero/legend at UK, it is yet to be seen what his impact will be in the NBA. My hope, along with the hopes of the entire Big Blue Nation, is that Cousins will do exactly what he did at Kentucky and that is prove every one of his critics wrong. The problem that I can foresee is that he might not have the strong father figure that he had in John Caliapri and he might not have the strong supporting base of fans that is the Big Blue Nation. Without these important factors it is hard to tell what will happen.

I hope he never loses his sense of humor or his quirkiness. It is what makes him unique. He admitted how hard it was to leave Lexington for the NBA and constantly Tweeted about how much he misses it at Kentucky. UK will always be here for Boogie, let's hope he can make us proud.