[knicksfan7Participant]

This is all my personal opinion, but I truly believe DeMarcus Cousins has the potential to be the best player in this year’s draft. Based off his listings on this site at 6’11” 280, he is probably 6’11” with shoes on, but you play with shoes on so that is moot, and maybe he is more like 270, but his frame can add another 10-15 pounds in muscle. He is a prototypical low post player that can score in bunches, rebounds well, and plays solid defense. I believe his biggest negatives are his poor on-court body language as well as attitude. Too many times you see him pouting with refs on the court or whining to coach Calipari on the bench. I believe if he can mature up and just shut up and play the game he will be a very good player. To me he is the only big in this draft who can be an instant double-double guy in the NBA with his body and skill set, I would say he could be a 20 and 10 guy, but that’s asking a lot and he needs to improve upon his free throw shooting. I am eager to hear what everyone else has to say.

[JNixonParticipant]

He can be a 20-10 guy, but he also needs to be a better defender than he is. He reminds me ALOT of Al Jefferson, except he’s taller and longer (it seems) which makes him the true Center that the T’Wolves are trying to make Jefferson. He an be good, but he has to stay in shape and grow up in addition to getting better on D.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

welcome to my club…..most people would consider us a cult but they are the ones that are going to pay when the reckoning comes….

http://dpbball.blogspot.com/2010/03/doug-fergusons-big-board-for-2010-nba.html

[knicksfan7Participant]

Iggy, I don’t think he is that bad of a defender to me it is more so he doesn’t care for playing defense which makes it look like he isn’t a good defender. My own interpretation of Cousins’ body language is that if he is going one on one against someone with less height and skill he almost feels that he should be able to score effortlessly and if he doesn’t he’ll get the foul called. He needs to stop believing that and just do his thing and score. If he understands his role and checks his attitude/ego at the door he can be apart of championship teams over a long nba career.

[knicksfan7Participant]

Midwest, is this link your own work because it is pretty good. Nothing against John Wall, but we have seen many guys before him Rose and Evans as well as after him in Brandon Knight who can do the same things he can do, some better some worse. Though you don’t find many DeMarcus Cousins’ around the block.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

that’s me……thanx…..I have been working hard to make a name for myself out there….so far I have 2 sites calling me their “draft expert” so I guess that’s a good thing….

[knicksfan7Participant]

Midwest, do you have a facebook account if so send me an email with your facebook, and I’ll request you.

[canesboy6Participant]

And I don’t think it is even close. I think Cousins probably has the second highest cieling. Not as sold on Whiteside as others, the kid is almost 21 and acts childishly for a freshman? I don’t see the upside others do considering his frame, head problems, and age. Don’t get me wrong, he CAN be good, but I also see that he might very well not be. Bad investment IMO.

Cousins is a tough call because he too has behavioral problems, but is just a force down there. He would be downright frightening in shape.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

its nothing against John Wall either…..I think he and Turner (and maybe Favors too) are all franchise players….Cousins is just the best AND (as knicksfan said) is the rarest breed of all of them…..and he IS NOT a project at all….he is ready to go NOW!!!!!!!!!

[JNixonParticipant]

He’s a bad defender. He reminds me of Mike Beasley in his D. He doesn’t really try alot on D, especially when he gets tired. Coach Cal yells at him/benches him at least 2 times a game because of him not being alert or because he doesn’t contest on D.

[knicksfan7Participant]

Canes, who are you saying is almost 21??? Cousins hasn’t even turned 20 yet. Though if you mean Whiteside yeah he is almost 21, though I don’t think he has fully developed yet, so I am not too worried about his age.

[knicksfan7Participant]

The big thing for Cousins is his attitude and behavior on the court. If he steers them both in a positive direction there is no doubt in my mind he can be a top 3 player at his position as well as an all-star year in and year out.

[knicksfan7Participant]

The big thing that people don’t take into consideration is that in the NBA, everyone is athletic, fast, and strong. Very few players’ physical specimen separates them from the rest (shaq, dwight howard are two that come to mind with big guys), but overall what makes the greats, great is mental toughness.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

one thing he does need to work on is conditioning…..but when he is fresh he’s diving on the floor, beatin back shots….did you see the first half against Cornell???? 4 steals….he isn’t the greatest defender and he also needs to work on silly fouls…..he needs to develop more of a sense of game situation….what I mean is like this….against West Virginia, every one of his first 3 fouls in that game weren’t really fouls….but he has to understand that referees are idiots and they have their own interpretation of the rules…..he needs to adapt to this because even though its stupid its the law of the land and he isn’t going to get anywhere by trying to make them change their ways…

[the I in winParticipant]

He is very big and he likes being big, haven’t seen to many jumpers or trying to do perimeter stuff. he likes rebounding and with his size he could easily average 10 rpg his rookie year. he doesn’t have great post moves but he has good foot work and great hands which can get him 10 ppg by itself.

[JNixonParticipant]

What I mean is he isn’t a great 1-on-1 defender. He can be beat by quick PF/C’s and he’s foul prone. He’s gotten steals, but steals don’t make you a good defender. If it did, Allen Iverson would unrightfully be one of the best defenders in the history of the NBA. I’ve watched him on D, but he’s not been very good in any game I’ve seen this year on that end.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

Nor is Wall a good defender…..if anyone is getting by defensively on his athleticism its Wall…..he got exposed against Joe Mazzulla….I think that is the first person Mazzulla has exposed in his life….

[stanford hoops]

i have to agree with the guys on espn when they said he is a good defender when he tries but is soso when he doesnt and needs to be more consistant in that aspect. i love his offense and reminds me of zach randolph( in which some of the espn guys agreed) because of his size and his footwork is way ahead of his peers. you rarely find freshman big men who have such advanced footwork. i also think he has the highest ceiling because players liek wall and turner come along more often the a skilled young big man with great footwork

[stanford hoops]

i agree wall is the worst defender out of the whole bunch. he gets steals but its almost painful sometimes to watch how guards go past him considering how quick he is. he plays allen iverson one on one defense

[knicksfan7Participant]

Quincey, that’s a pretty good assessment. I like the Zach Randolph comparison, but does he have a mid range jumper like Randolph??? Though, early in Randolph’s career he was on the bench because of Rasheed, Brian Grant, and didn’t get burn but was a beast once he started to. Poor decisions led to his demise in Portland though. I do think Cousins could be better than Zach right away as long as he gets rid of the attitude.

[JNixonParticipant]

People have said him and Wall are bad on D, but the thing is Wall played pretty good defense for alot of the year, he did have a horrible defensive game against Mazzulla though. At least Wall plays with passion and energy more than Cousins does, which is good for his defensive potential

[delfamParticipant]

He is out of shape and needs to gain cardio, also he isn’t the best of athletes. I’ve also noticed when he rebounds he doesn’t seem to jump which doesn’t translate well either.

I think it all comes down to who drafts him. He needs a strong coach to keep him in check. Places like Washington and Golden State would be bad for him with the Wizards already having bad character guys and Golden State also having character issues.

[knicksfan7Participant]

Someone has to tell Cousins that he can be one of the best players in the league and the only thing that is hindering that is poor attitude. I remember people on this board a while back criticizing Lance Stephenson’s attitude, but Cousins’ makes his look great.

[stanford hoops]

yeah he doesnt have the midrange yet
as far as wall i forgot to even think about the wv game where his defense was bad. throughout the year guards have went past him starting with green from stanford but most people didnt really notice because of the steals and how good he was on fast breaks. i mentioned it then and later.. he looked alot better when dealing with guards who werent really scorers but if you go back and look how he didnt against scoring guards you will notice his defense isnt as good as it first seemed

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

Changing mental makeup is a big deal…is Cousins going to be able to do that? I have my doubts. We saw how bad his attitude and demeanor was this year…on a team that lost 3 games all season!! What happens when he gets drafted by a team in the top 10 and they lose 3 out of every 4 games…hows his attitude going to be? Its easy to have a good attitude when things are going good, but hard to when they arent…he doesnt have a good attitude at all though.

If guys like Wall and Cousins are lazy on defense now…what makes you think they wont be lazy on Defense in the pro’s where just about all of them seem to play even lazier defense. Wall has passion after he gets a dunk, or makes a highlight reel play…does he really have that much passion though? I think John Wall will be a good player in the NBA…but I do think he is a bit overrated defensively…just because he has a 6’7 wingspan or whatever doesnt make his a potentially good defensive player. Defense is all about want…does he have it?

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

also realize that Wall was almost always matched up against every team’s second best perimeter player and sometimes the 3rd best depending on how big the situation……..Bledsoe got nearly every primary defensive assignment…..he likely won’t be afforded that luxury as a pro………..

[stanford hoops]

biggy..just because they are lazy on defense now doesnt mean they will bein the pros..many players defense has gotten better with a couple years in the pros.. brons wasnt that good and melos was pretty bad..both have gotten better

[JNixonParticipant]

That is a good point midwestscout, about the matchups Wall gets.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

yes most people become better defenders as pros but it doesn’t make their lazy habits now overlookable (don’t know if that’s a word but its the best I could come up with)……many players could care less after 10 years in the league too…..yeah Lebron wasn’t a great defender when he got into the league….that’s because he was in HS where he could defend 1 on 5 w/out breaking into a jog…..it was probably hard to get used to that thing they call sweating…..not to mention he was about the most can’t miss prospect in the history of the world……I don’t think the same could be said about anyone in this draft….but I DO think Cousins is the closest to can’t miss….

[knicksfan7Participant]

Midwest, to me Cousins is a can’t miss if he wants to be a can’t miss. If he wants to pout on the court all he wants he’ll never get the amount of money he desires from playing basketball, nor the endorsements, and shoe deals. The guy to me can be the next big thing since Dwight Howard (I would say Oden, but Oden keeps getting hurt).

[delfamParticipant]

Im not sure Cousins will have a chance to succeed to his potential. Going to the Warriors or Wizards isn’t going to help his attitude at all.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

he goes to the Warriors being a bad defender is a good thing though right lol???? but in all seriousness….whining to the refs is a sad truth in the NBA….everyone whines to refs…..Kobe, Lebron, Kevin Garnett…..I think if that is the concern about him, the worst that can happen is that he has the same kind of career as Rasheed Wallace…..not comparing them in style of play but as elite talents that if it weren’t for their attitude could have been Hall of Famers…….a) having the kind of career that Sheed has had isn’t SO horrible….and b) being Rasheed attitude-wise is an absolute worst case scenario….no matter how bad his behavior is it would take real effort to measure up to Rasheed’s body of work….his attitude does kind of remind me of Rasheed which is somewhat scary but the other half of Rasheed’s attitude is that he works hard on his game and he is very passionate about winning….

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

Both Lebron and Carmelo have the mindset that they want to be good on defense. Both guys have put effort in on defense. Melo played in the 23 zone at Cuse so his D can maybe get a pass, and Lebron was playing HS so his D can get a pass too. Both guys though have matured alot and at least put forth effort defensivly…and both are still not great on Defense but thats not the point. The point is…Do John Wall and Demarcus Cousins have the mental makeup and desire to be good Defensive players…or are they perfectly content with being highlight reel players and scoring alot of points?

I’m not saying both of them cant be good defenders…I’m simply questioning weather or not they want to and will be.

[joecheck88Participant]

what i dont like about cousins is his lack of athleticism. this can be overcome as shown by other players. but the reason those guys succeed is because all they do is work hard and shut up. can cousins do that? i dont know if he can shut up but he needs to work hard all the time, and that means he will need to get into better shape.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

He is EXTREMELY athletic for 6-11/280!?!?!?!?!? I have never seen someone that size who is as athletic as him save Shaq….

[knicksfan7Participant]

Midwest, what about Dwight as well as Shaq. I think the worst case scenario for Cousins is a non-injury prone Eddy Curry. I know we make plenty of jokes about Eddy Curry, but when’s he healthy he is a decent offensive weapon. Midwest, check your facebook.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

Dwight can’t be 280???? if he is than obviously Dwight is more athletic than anyone alive….my point is, he’s not Oliver Miller, Stanley Roberts, etc…..I like Eddy Curry comparison at this point….you would obviously hope Cousins develops like everyone thought Curry would…then he would be worth a top 3 pick for sure….and you’re right….Curry was a beast for the Bulls……I remember them being really upset when they traded him until I found out it was the basketball version of the Louisiana Purchase….

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

I did but I don’t have any notifications????

[knicksfan7Participant]

Oh…that’s odd. Under my account click on the email button, and send me an email with a link to your facebook, iight?

[stanford hoops]

midwestbbscout theres a coupel of big guys who were just as athletic at his size.he is not extremely athletic.. liek someone mentioned eddie curry. kendrick perkins is just as athletic tractor

and curry was nver “a beast” he was a pretty good player at best..what he put up like 16-17 a game and 6 rebounds?

as far as defense biggie playing the 2-3 doesnt give mello a pass and there are other guys who came into the leauge whos defense wasnt that good. youre right its all about what you wanna do and mental but there is no way in the world any of us knows walls or cousins mental make up..we only see games, we would have to see practice to get a better picture

[knicksfan7Participant]

Midwest, Dwight is 265, so I wasn’t too off.

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

ten to the four….and even if he was 280….just think anytime I say somebody is more athletic than anyone that Dwight doesn’t count lol…..

[midwestbbscoutParticipant]

I got you on fb….go through my friends I got some nice ones…..I got Nate, I got like 6 players on St. Johns if you lke them too….

[stanford hoops]

lol

[lalailaParticipant]

man once again i’m late in discussion because of different time there….how ever i’m big DeMarcus fan and i think he really could be best out of class if he stays focus..his per minute stats are crazy he has best PER in college and he is only 19yrs only and playing not in the team like Marshall but next to Patt and others it’s really hard to be so productive under the basket in such a deep team.

[Chicago1980Participant]

He reminds me of Derrick Coleman he has a lot of game but his attitude may hold him back from being a great player. Derrick Coleman was a real good player but his work ethic and his attitude kept him from being great.

[joecheck88Participant]

ok he is quick and strong. i meant he doesnt play above the rim as most productive bigs do. al jefferson was a good comparison and i have compared him to a much bigger version of craig smith. which isnt all that bad considering im thinking of the craig smith that put up 25 and 10 last thursaday against houston. he can overcome not playing above the rim but he will have to work hard on his game and hustle all the time. i think at worst he will be a better version of kendrick perkins and his best could be almost limitless but i think he has a chance to bust as a top draft pick(but you almost have to take him if he is at 5 and detroit is picking). i just dont like him as a sure fire 20 and 10 guy.

[Author]

Posts