How about Cousins as SEC player of the year?

**BestdamnUKfanperiod** Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:21 am

How about Cousins as SEC player of the year?

By Kevin Scarbinsky -- The Birmingham News
February 08, 2010, 2:08PM

Alabama Basketball, Basketball, SEC »
How about Cousins as SEC player of the year?
By Kevin Scarbinsky -- The Birmingham News
February 08, 2010, 2:08PM

Three-game losing streak aside, there are plenty of reasons for Alabama fans to tune in Tuesday night's basketball game at Kentucky at 8 CT on ESPNU. Here's one:

You might be watching the SEC player of the year.

Not John Wall.

DeMarcus Cousins.

I know. A lot of so-called basketball experts already have penciled in Wall as the SEC player of the year, the national player of the year, the one-and-done player of the millennium.

Meanwhile, Cousins continues to make a case that he, not Wall, may be Kentucky's real MVP.

Before you accuse me of home-town bias in favor of the Birmingham native, consider his monster numbers, which today earned him his third SEC freshman-of-the-week award.

Cousins has put up a double-double for six straight games -- the first UK player to do so since Chris Mills in 1989.

He has 14 double-doubles for the season, the most in the SEC and the most by a Wildcat since Jamaal Magloire in 2000.

Cousins is seventh in the SEC in scoring (16.4 ppg), second in rebounding (10 rpg), second in field-goal percentage (.542), fifth in blocks (1.87) and first in offensive rebounds (4.35). And just about all of his numbers have increased in conference games.

He's tied for the UK team lead in scoring with Wall, and he leads the team in rebounding and blocks.

Need more? Cousins is doing all this in a mere 21.3 minutes a game.

He's so valuable, UK coach John Calipari has been complaining that Cousins gets fouls because of his size and reputation as a hot-head while he's actually taking a physical beating.

True or not, Cal's done a better job defending Cousins than just about any of the players that've faced the freshman on the floor.

So allow me to make a request of all the people who vote on postseason awards.

Keep an open mind, and keep your eye on DeMarcus Cousins.

http://blog.al.com/kevin-scarbinsky/2010/02/how_about_cousins_as_sec_playe.html