Cousins to play for Davis
DeMarcus Cousins first met Mike Davis when he was in the eighth grade and Davis was the head coach at Indiana.
A lot has changed since then. Cousins has become a towering 6-foot-10 specimen and has honed his game to the point of being ranked the No. 5 prospect nationally in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com. He has moved from Birmingham to Mobile, while Davis moved from Indiana to Birmingham.
But for Cousins, one thing has stayed the same: He wants to play college basketball for Davis.
On Friday, one day after DeMarcus Cousins' LeFlore team lost to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the 6A state semifinals at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, Cousins announced at the Sheraton down the street that he will play college basketball for Davis, wherever Davis might be coaching next year.
"He's just been there since the beginning," said Cousins, who met Davis while attending a camp three years ago. "We just hit it right off."
Davis is currently the head coach at UAB, but could be in the mix for several job openings or jobs rumored to possibly be open soon. "I've been hearing rumors that he was going to LSU, South Carolina or Alabama," Cousins told the Press-Register in a phone interview before the announcement. John Brady was recently fired at LSU, Dave Odom is retiring at South Carolina, and speculation is rampant that Mark Gottfried's job may be in jeopardy at Alabama. Davis is a former Crimson Tide star.
While admitting "it's a possibility" that his commitment might affect Davis' chances of landing a new job, he said that's not the reason he decided to make his announcement Friday.
"It's a personal decision," he said. "After the loss, my mom and I sat down and talked. I'm taking it one day at a time and today was that day."
Cousins played at Erwin High in Birmingham last year, but was suspended from the team for undisclosed disciplinary reasons and did not finish the season with the team. He transferred initially to another Birmingham-area school, Clay-Chalkville, but withdrew after the Alabama High School Athletic Association declared him and two other incoming transfers ineligible to participate in athletics at the school. Clay-Chalkville was subsequently fined $900 and given a one-year probation for violating the AHSAA's recruiting rule by contacting Cousins prior to his transfer.
So Cousins moved instead to LeFlore last fall and averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Rattlers this season. He posted 16 points and three blocked shots in LeFlore's 63-59 loss to Hillcrest Thursday.
Cousins, a post man who is also a skilled passer and shooter, said he believes his game is well-suited to Davis' offense. "It's fast-paced and it's also half-court," Cousins said, "so it suits my game real well."
Cousins, who said he still plans to take some recruiting visits, said he believes the chances are good Davis will be coaching in the SEC next year. Asked what will happen if Davis stays at UAB, Cousins replied, "That's a whole other decision that I have to make."
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