Samuel Dalembert feels like a proud daddy. He doesn’t have children, but the 33-year-old once nurtured DeMarcus Cousins and has watched him grow up to be the basketball force he is today.
Before Blue Ivy was born, the New Yorks Knicks center and Cousins were teammates. On June 17, 2010, Dalembert was traded to the Sacramento Kings after nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. A week later, the Kings drafted Cousins fifth overall.
At the time, Cousins carried character concerns regarding his maturity and passion. But within moments of meeting each other, Dalembert had no doubts over the rookie center’s future.
“I think since the first time that he came in, he was a talented kid,” Dalembert told Cowbell Kingdom on Saturday. “There was no sign, no question about it, his talent and skills. It all goes back to his attitude. That was the main problem with a lot of people, and because he was a very emotional guy. Sometimes your emotion gets the best of you. I think he really worked on that, and now you can see the result.”
Dalembert played for the Kings only a season, leaving in summer 2011 to sign with the Houston Rockets. But the eldest big man on the roster made it a priority to prepare Cousins (and fellow pivot Hassan Whiteside) for the rigors of NBA competition.
“Most important thing (I taught Cousins) is just to be patient,” Dalembert explained. “Be patient, and get back on defense. It’s one of the things I always used to scream at him about. He’d leave me hanging over there with two guys. But it’s pretty much like telling him, ‘Slow down.’ He’d really get upset at himself, mad at himself, and again we’d try to keep his temper down. And when he’s cooled down, he’s a tremendous player. When he let his emotion get the best of him, then he starts struggling a little bit. So I’m so happy to see how well he developed to become the player he’s become.”
Cousins was a raw product in his rookie campaign. He failed to score in double digits 23 times, and his “charge first” defense was far from intimidating. Things began to click in the last quarter of the season, when Cousins and Dalembert started in the frontcourt together, and the veteran eased rebounding and rim protection responsibilities off the rookie.
“As you can see when I was here, at the end of the last 26 games of the season, you could see him start developing to become a great player and keep his composure down, and he was good at shooting,” Dalembert noted.
They had the makings of a formidable duo. But like the cycle of life, papa bird had to go, and baby bird needed to spread his wings. Dalembert has played for four teams since, while Cousins has committed to Sacramento and is blossoming into a superstar.
Dalembert and Cousins remain in touch. The journeyman makes notes of the dates he is scheduled to face the Kings, because naturally the master must hold his ground against the apprentice.
“We’re cool, but when it come time to play, when we’re on the floor, we go at each other,” Dalembert asserted. “We used to go at each other in practice. I wanted him to get better defensively, I wanted him to keep his composure in the game, because he really was a key player for us. I always tell him, I’m coming at him. I’m coming at him.”
In pregame, Dalembert shared what he thought were Cousins’ most lethal moves.
“I think one of his moves he likes to do is the spin move going to the basket. (Or) usually, he’ll put his strength into it and go straight to the basket. He’s kind of hard to guard if you’re not a really good defender or great defender, it’s going to be really hard to guard.”
Cousins scored a season-high 39 points on Saturday, in large part at Dalembert’s expense. The aging Knick swatted his former understudy twice, but the young King had the last laugh via Sportscenter facial.
Thankfully, it was all in good fun. And while the 6-foot-11 centers are not biologically related, Dalembert can still be proud of being a positive influence.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
