Sports Then and Now

Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins should lead the New Orleans Pelicans to victory next season.

Anthony Davis has conquered the NBA in just five seasons.

He is a four-time NBA All-Star, including earning All-Star game MVP honors in 2017.

Despite playing on primarily losing teams with the New Orleans Pelicans, Davis has earned first-team All-NBA honors once, second team All-Defensive honors, while twice leading the NBA in blocks and made the NBA All-Rookie team in 2013.

During his career he has played in 335 games, with a .513 field goal percentage, a three point shooting percentage of .290, free throw percentage of 78.7, 10.2 rebounds per contest, 1.8 assists per game, 2.4 blocks per game and 22.4 points per game.

Between his sophomore and senior year in high school Davis grew from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-10. He went from a mediocre point guard who just might get a college scholarship to a Division II team to the number one prospect in high school basketball and could attend any college in the country he wanted.

He would be an Olympic Gold Medalist straight out of college after leading Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament and winning it all. He was the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year during his one season in college. Read the rest of this entry →

DeMarcus Cousins is getting quite frustrated with the continued losing in Sacramento. How long will it be before a trade is best both for him and the franchise?

It’s been a long time between drinks of playoff water for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The last time they made it to the playoffs was in 2005-2006 when they lost in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to the World Champ San Antonio Spurs in a series that went to 4-2. Since then, they have failed to finish above .500 for 10 consecutive seasons while compiling a dismal record of 277-527 for a winning percentage of  33.78%.

During that time span, the team has had a number of talented players who have come and gone. Over the last six years, power forward DeMarcus Cousins has done all a man can do to turn the franchise around. While certainly culpable for being a general pain in the butt on a team that has had more than its fair share of issues and distractions, the talent this man possesses is far beyond question.

Ever since he came over as the 5^th overall pick in the 2010 from the University of Kentucky, he has matched up well against some of the best power forwards in the game. In his first couple of years, his temper and overall demeanor stood in the way of his reaching an elite level of play. With that said, there was no denying the talent was there in a body chiseled from rock.

Over his first three seasons, he averaged right around 17 PPG while proving himself to be quite effective underneath both the offensive and defensive boards. It wasn’t until the start of the 2013-14 season that he started harnessing all that destructive energy into something positive. The result was an invitation to the All-Star game and honorable mention on the All-NBA team after averaging just over 22 PG with 11.7 RPG. Read the rest of this entry →