From those clips it looks like he's got all the tools we would be looking for out of a bigman, nice & quick on 1st & 2nd jumps going up for rebounds, has a nice touch from midrange & beyond & some good footwork in the post. Finest, how would you say he stacks up with someone like Jason Thompson? Any similarities there you think?
Sure. That's another good comparison.. Tell ya what bro, I think Cousin's jumper might be even more pure. And he feels a tad more 'legit C' to me, but yeah, very similar to Thompson -- two guys at least 6'10" that are good athletes, can board and score the ball a few different ways..Excellent call right there.
Back in January, I saw this kid for the first time on the NBA channel and loved what I saw: Big (Givony over at DX has him at 6'11" 3/4 in shoes which to me is 7'), bangin' jumpers on guys all over the joint, rebounder, defender, and wasn't afraid to play inside a little and get dirty on both ends. Saw him again in the DL all-star game and there he was, doing his thing again.. I mentioned Keith Benson and I honestly believe Cousin's a better player..Benson disappointed a little recently--I think he needs more work than I originally thought..But I think he's right there talent-wise with a few other bigs that are expected to go in the first round this summer:
JaJuan Johnson -- he's got about 2" on this kid, same motor, maybe an even better inside/outside game and Johnson's got a good one..Johnson's a little lighter, has a little more spring & plays a tad more above the rim from the little I've seen but Cousin's right there with him as far as overall talent. He's just more a legit C.
Trey Thompkins -- Cousin's bigger and a better rebounder, Thompkins might have a little more range on his J..I really like Thompkins a lot, tremendous offensive arsenal for a big man, but he comes up a little short in the rebounding column.
Kenneth Faried -- Different players entirely..Faried much more raw offensively and not nearly as big (height & weight---Faried only goes about 6'8" 225) but he's in a world of his own with his rebounding prowess and defensive mindset..Not to say Cousin's not good in these areas himself--he is, Faried's just on a different level in those two categories. Tell you what, Cousin and Faried together would be an awesome look for us while Amar'e's out getting a rest...All I'm looking for is to jack up our frontcourt significantly over what we have now and for a good price-----we could probably get Cousin for 800K or so for next year and Faried in the draft around 20 for $1.36--$1.5M..To me that's better value over a Marc Gasol offer sheet for say $8-10M long-term and something I'd be inclined to try first..If that didn't work, we probably at least got a quality backup C in Cousin and we could shop for a big man in 2012. Pure logic...We could even go cheaper with a Cousin/Jeff Adrien combo (say 800K apiece) for practically the same thing, provided Adrien's available this summer. I think he will be--Adrien played well enough to get the callup + GS had him in the preseason so you know they like him yet he's not getting any burn out there.
Justin Harper -- Even more of a deep perimeter game than Thompkins..Cousin's bigger and more capable closer to the basket..Better rebounder than this kid too. Again, different players---Cousin's a C; Harper feels more like a bigger version of Wilson Chandler to me, maybe some Austin Daye with a little bit of KU's Morris brothers..Big, rangy can shoot 3s, some post up and he can put it on the floor..Cousin's more a legit center who's very effective 17' and in. Still a good player though, I'm not sure I'd put one ahead of the other, they're just different..Point is he'd be right there in the draft with this kid too.
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Cousin's in the same conversation with any of these guys..Right there..He immediately reminded me of Al Horford when I first saw him..You made the Jordan Hill comparison a few weeks ago STAT1 and that's pretty close as well (very similar game--Cousin's even bigger)....I've never seen this highly-thought of Euro Jonas Valanciunas, only clips..Different styles but Cousin looks like he could certainly match up with him..That's really my point -- I see a kid here who could match up with any of these guys as well as many current Cs in the NBA right now and not embarrass himself on either end of the floor. I don't wanna get too crazy here but throw Enes Kanter and Jared Sullinger in the mix too --- I don't see why Cousin couldn't match up well against either one of these guys as well..Those two are very good talents but when I watch Cousin play, it's not like I see a guy who can't compete against these guys..Quite the contrary.
Cousin probably got overlooked because he played with two very ball-dominant shooters in college: Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis. Esp. Coleman---in Cousin's senior year at Houston, Coleman took 717 shots at the basket with 319 FT attempts. Lewis: 473 FG attempts..Cousin by comparison: only 254..
Just compare Cousin's senior year to a guy like Purdue's JaJuan Johnson who went for 20.5 & 8.6 this season:
JJ: 35 mins, 20.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.3 blks, 520 FG attempts, 209 FT attempts, 49.4% FG
MC '08-'09: 30 mins, 10.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.1 blks, 254 FG attempts, 138 FT attempts, 50.4% FG
Tells me Cousin simply never got the ball enough in college to show what he could really do. Surprising, considering how polished his offensive skills look, even back then looking at his college highlights. If this guy just got more touches, he easily could've scored it at a much higher rate like some of these other guys we're talking about here and got the recognition he deserved...
Cousin played 2 years at Seton Hall, transferred to Houston where he had to red shirt a year, had an uneventful 3rd full season before finally showing what he could do his senior year but was eclipsed by chucker/ball-hog Aubrey Coleman and a coach/system which apparently didn't benefit him a great deal. Didn't get drafted, went overseas to play in Turkey and then returned to the States this year to play in the NBDL where he really came into his own..It's been a tough road for this kid, much tougher than it should've been for him based on his ability..Ya know the average NBDL salary ranges anywhere from $27,000 to $40,000, some say as low as $12,000 to $24,000..That's it. Can you believe that?? How's this kid supposed to live on that?? I'm definitely rooting for him to make it..I'd love it to be here with us, we could certainly use him and his skills..But somewhere man--he's too good a talent not to be in the NBA right now.
