Read the opposing arguments from Sports Geek and Loyal Homer.
In the question of who will be the most highly coveted prospect as the 2010 NBA Draft rolls around, there is little doubt that John Wall of Kentucky will be the answer. In fact, it was not until midway through the basketball season that I learned his REAL first name was John, and not “Projected-Top-Pick-Of-The-NBA-Draft.”
Wall is a very talented point guard who will surely provide value to whichever team is fortunate enough to be drawn first in the upcoming NBA Lottery.
If you want to talk about which upcoming draftee will provide the best IMMEDIATE impact to a team though, Wall is not the answer. Instead, it will be his former Kentucky Wildcat teammate, DeMarcus Cousins.
To begin with, the 19-year old Cousins is already six feet eleven inches and 270 pounds. He should have no problem at all banging around under the hoop with the big boys (literally) on an NBA court. Because of his size, he dominated both on offense and defense for Kentucky, ultimately establishing himself as the top “big man” in the country coming into this NBA Draft.
In 38 games for Kentucky this season Cousins accounted for 20 double-doubles, leading to an AVERAGE of 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Because of the combination of his size and his strong perimeter shooting (he shot 55.8 percent from the field last season), he was by far the best overall producer on one of the top teams in the nation. That is not bad considering the fact that he was criticized for a lack of conditioning and maturity on the court.
He may not be able to compete with the speed of other draftees such as Wall, or Ohio State’s Evan Turner, but let’s face it, there are already enough speedy guards in the NBA. The reason that Cousins will provide an IMMEDIATE impact is the simple fact that he is physically big enough and strong enough to hold his own at the highly prized position of power forward.
The one weakness that Cousins brings with him to the NBA is his temper. Because of his reputation for retaliation he could become a liability late in games if he is unable to keep his emotions in check. The last thing that any NBA team wants is to deal with technical fouls that mount up and ejections in the closing minutes of competitive games. Fortunately, as the season wore on, Cousins seemed to show some increased maturity on the court. In a league of Ron Artests and Latrell Sprewells, I think it is safe to say that most general managers would be willing to overlook the occasional temperamental reaction in exchange for the immediate game-readiness that Cousins has demonstrated.
He possesses all of the qualities prized by an NBA team looking to acquire a dominant physical presence up front. He is big, strong, and has great footwork for a kid his size. He is a consistent shooter both inside and out, and is not afraid to mix things up under the rim if he needs to in order to pull down a rebound.
DeMarcus Cousins may not be drafted ahead of his Kentucky teammate, John Wall, but in terms of playing time, you can count on him being the first to make a REAL contribution, right off the bat, wherever he ends up!
