When DeMarcus Cousins played in the NCAA, he was a man amongst boys. A 6-foot-10, 270-pound behemoth with the agility and soft touch of a guard, Cousins dominated college basketball, averaging 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds in 38 games for the Kentucky Wildcats.
However, even as NBA teams salivated to add the talented big man to their roster, DeMarcus wasn't entirely sold on the idea. In an interview on the "Club 520" podcast, "Boogie" shared how he initially doubted his abilities and felt he wasn't ready for the NBA.
Cousins didn't think he was NBA-ready
The NBA is and always will be a grown man's league. Although Steph Curry, Allen Iverson, and Chris Paul have proven that size isn't everything in basketball, it's still a physical and bruising game where only the strongest survive.
For a young prospect like Cousins, who had just turned 20 when he entered the NBA, the idea of going toe-to-toe with seasoned veterans was daunting.
"For me, the NBA was something I never really thought I was ready for. I knew I was talented, but looking at guys like Ben Wallace and others, I was like, 'Man, I ain't got a chance in hell,'" Cousins said .
Wallace was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner who was as strong as an ox and as relentless as a pitbull on the court. For Cousins, who was known for playing in the paint, facing off against a player like Wallace seemed like an impossible task. "Big Ben," though, was far from being the only talented big man who stalked the shaded lane in the league.
"You see Shaq, Tim Duncan, and these dudes are huge. That was never really my reality," DMC stated.
However, a conversation he had with Kentucky coach John Calipari helped convince DeMarcus to make the jump to the NBA after one season in the NCAA.
"By the end of that year, things changed, and a conversation definitely put things in perspective for me, especially with Cal. That's when I made that jump," the four-time All-Star recalled.
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Players Cousins admired
Once he got to the NBA, "Boogie" saw how talented his contemporaries were up close and admired the games of different players. However, in DMC's mind, one guy stood head and shoulders above everybody else: Carmelo Anthony.
"I loved the way he moved with the ball, his size, the physicality, and the finesse—he combined both so well," Cousins said of the high-scoring forward.
"Amar'e Stoudemire was that same type of guy. And, of course, I loved Shaq for his dominance and the intimidation he played with. Pau Gasol, too, for his grace and the way he thought the game—he didn't rely just on athleticism," DeMarcus added, naming players who caught his eye during his time in the league.
Cousins not only proved he had what it took to be in the big league but also thrived in it, becoming one of the most dominant and feared big men in the NBA before an Achilles injury put him on a different path.
Related: “My mind was saying ‘You can still do it,’ but my body not on the same page” - DeMarcus Cousins on his struggles with the Achilles injury
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