DeMarcus Cousins wanted to return to Kentucky for a sophomore year
Ready for some more DeMarcus Cousins content? Because we’ve got it. Yesterday, Boogie’s appearance on “KG Certified” with Kevin Garnett dropped and it includes a ton of interesting quotes from the former Cat, who we found out this morning is joining a professional team in Puerto Rico in hopes of jumpstarting his NBA career. The clip that’s gone viral is Boogie claiming he would be the third-best center in the NBA right now. You’ve gotta love that confidence, you’ve also gotta love Boogie talking fondly about his time at Kentucky, which he does a lot during the 47-minute episode.
Cousins speaks openly about how his time at Kentucky helped him, and how it almost didn’t happen. He revealed to Garnett that when he was being recruited, a girl claimed she was having his child, which made him reconsider going to college. His mother convinced him to get a DNA test, and the doctor called Cousins and his mother as they were arriving at Kentucky for his official visit. The results were in and the baby was not his.
“As I’m walking through the doors at Kentucky, I swear to God, I’m walking through the doors at Kentucky to go on my visit and meet Cal. The doctor calls, calls my mom’s phone. ‘Hello?’ ‘It’s not yours.'”
“Oh wow, and you’re supposed to go do the visit like this?” Garnett asks.
“I’m f—– up in the moment but I’m like, I’ll worry about that s— later. I walk in there now, I’ve got a clear mind of what I’m about to do, so it kind of started a fire in me. I’m like, ‘Yeah, Cal, I’m coming to Kentucky, bro.’ I’m going to ahead and make this s— happen.”
Cousins said he loved his time at Kentucky so much he didn’t want to leave, to the point he told Calipari in their end-of-year meeting that he was going to return for a sophomore season. I’m sure you can guess Cal’s response.
“It’s like, okay, you’re a top-five pick,” Cousins said. “So I had the conversation with Cal and in my head, I’m like, I’m coming back to college. I’m going to do one more year… You kind of fall in love. That was the first time I enjoyed playing basketball, I felt loved, I felt I could be myself. Kentucky put me in a place that just like — it was a peaceful environment. I could just be myself. I wasn’t being judged. They enjoyed me. All the positives I was looking for in my life. So I’m like, I want to stay here. I want to win the championship, all this s—.”
“The conversation lasted about three minutes. So, I’m like, ‘I’m thinking about coming back.’ And Cal’s like, ‘All I’ve got to say is, if you want to take care of your family, you’re going to leave. If you want to take care of my family, you’re going to stay.’ ‘Appreciate everything you did for me, Cal. I’ll see you.’ That was our conversation.”
Cousins ended up being the No. 5 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and clearly made the right choice, but a sophomore Boogie is a fun hypothetical for a slow day. Enjoy the clip of him talking about wanting to come back to Kentucky below, and the entire episode below that. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts. Warning: there are a LOT of cusswords, so put on your earmuffs, kids.
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