First, Cousins goes off during the Vandy game...not the first time this has happened this season, won't be the last.

Then Wall makes comments after the game :

""I just try NOT to listen to him and go out and play basketball and try and help my team win," Wall said Saturday"

Interesting comment to say about your coach.

Of course now he back peddles off those comments.
Still not good to hear this and see how Cousins loses his cool.

Looks like things aren't so rosey at UK right now. This with a team that is 20-1.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/02/01/kentucky.wall.ap/index.html?eref=sihp

I was wondering when this would be posted.

Definitely not a smart thing for Wall to say to the media. Sounds like he and Cal have resolved the issue, but I suppose it could be a negative factor as the season progresses.

Question for the UK fans: Not trying to start trouble here, just honestly curious because I never saw much about it. What happened with the accusations about Cousins punching a South Carolina fan after that game? I saw a couple videos online, but couldn't really tell if anything actually happened. Cousins has turned into a dominant post player. If he can keep his emotions under control, he'll be a huge asset for UK down the stretch.

I seriously have doubts about the attitude of John Wall and how that will translate into the NBA..

It's already been reported as "untrue" in an interview with John Wall today.

With the whole Cousins thing, it's pretty much known teams are going to try to agitate him and bait him into technical fouls or worse. If he doesn't continue to keep his cool, he will be in trouble.

The whole Wall thing is a joke though, and numerous analysts have come out and said as much today. It's there to cause controversy. I wouldn't expect less.

With that said, John Wall hasn't been that great the last couple of weeks, and Calipari isn't sugar-coating it. I'd guess it's the first time in his career someone has ever questioned Wall's play.

Nothing happened in the South Carolina game. The fan (and announcer/staff member who supposedly saw it) made it up. Calipari addressed it in a press conference saying he was "sure the guy would apologize because you certainly don't pin stuff like that on a kid." He said it in a sarcastic manner, basically calling the person out who makes up ridiculous stuff like that and saying surely nobody could do that...

Thanks for the Cousins info, Azu.

When I hadn't heard much about it, I figured it was something that had been blown out of proportion, or in this case, fabricated entirely.

Read this article from Larry Vaught about what really went on after the Vanderbilt game.

http://vaughtsviews.com/?p=2891

Here's what amazes me. People come up with this stuff and they make it breaking news on PTI, SportsCenter, etc...it happened earlier on ESPN with "DeMarcus Cousins upset about playing time."

Literally, stuff comes out of nowhere and it makes it into the news reel debate. Sure, UK and many of their "characters" are interesting to talk about, but part of me wonders if there is some sort of underlining reason to do this. I mean you DO have fly-by people who catch one segment or article and would swear things are crashing down in Lexington.

Things aren't perfect, but these types of quarrels are occurring all over college basketball, and have happened this year already at Kansas (without nearly the media coverage). It's typical stuff, the great coaches aren't going to let it ruin a season.

ironman02 wrote: Thanks for the Cousins info, Azu.

When I hadn't heard much about it, I figured it was something that had been blown out of proportion, or in this case, fabricated entirely.

Apparently, on the Darrin Horn Show, they showed numerous clips of the incident and asked Horn himself what he saw and it was quite clear that nobody even got near Cousins as he left the court. The closest people to him were a cameraman and a member of the local press. There certainly wasn't a fan that approached him or anything resembling him even being near a fan.

Of course, for a whole 48 hours, especially on the Louisville and South Carolina forums, there were 50 topics about how Cousins (and Patterson involved as well) sucker-punched a fan and knocked him out.

I mean literally, this crap can ruin someone's reputation with the way internet hearsay flies these days. All it takes is a few idiots with an audience to start spewing it and the guy becomes a bad guy.

DeMarcus Cousins is an extremely talented player, who is physically superior to every other player in college basketball. The only way to really stop him is to get under his skin, foul him hard and hope you take him out of his game or get his temper to flare up.

Whether it's a legit tactic to employ as an opposing coach isn't that relevant, but as long as people know what's going on here. Watch Cousins the rest of the year, he gets hammered as much or more than he dishes out, but unfortunately for UK, he's their #1 option, and it's usually a goon from the opposing team who's going against him. It would be a trade-off most coaches would be willing to make if it results in technical fouls or ejections.

Azubuike24 wrote: It's already been reported as "untrue" in an interview with John Wall today.

Sorry to ask another question, but I'm a little confused. Does this mean that Wall didn't say "I just try NOT to listen to him and go out and play basketball and try and help my team win" or is that in reference to something else?

I think he definitely said it, but the context surrounding it is untrue (as meant by his later comments). As he said to Vaught, he said things he didn't mean after being frustrated with his recent performances in SEC play. Calipari pretty much said that John Wall was playing horrible after the Vanderbilt game, which sure, taken out of context wouldn't likely refer to a player who is still scoring 16.3 PPG and dishing out 5.6 APG in conference games on a team who is 20-1. However, relative to how John Wall CAN play, "horrible" was maybe an appropriate word. It doesn't mean literally, "horrible" as we would think it does. That's why most fans have a problem with it...because it's being discussed like there is a feud, or even CBF's thread title "trouble brewing at Kentucky?" The only trouble I see is for the rest of the country if all the puzzle pieces start fitting together.

I guess we will see how things play out, but I'd say this was a young player's first response to being called out, probably for the first time in his life. It must mean the world is ending right, since it's become a hot-button issue nationally...

Ok, got it now. Thanks for the clarification.

Wall and Cal obviously don't think it's an issue, so that's all that really matters.

You know how it is as a UNC fan. The everyday happenings in a given season can become national news if someone gets a video clip or a quote and runs with it. How many times have you heard about Roy Williams tearing up or him having the fan thrown out?

Those of us who follow the sport closely see this stuff happen at many other major programs on a daily basis yet there isn't a peep about it.

For instance, both Renardo Sidney (MCDAA's at Mississippi State) and John Wall had eligibility issues, and have been disciplined by the NCAA. Wall's was covered extensively by the media, and even used as a way to take a "dig at UK, Calipari, etc..." regarding dirty tactics. All of this for his relationship with someone from his AAU days more than a year before his relationship with Kentucky which was serious enough to warrant a ONE GAME SUSPENSION!

The Sidney case, if anyone has been following closely, was much more serious, and is a much deeper investigation by the NCAA. There actually may be some breaking news very soon on it, but it has gone on for 6 months now with no resolution. This was for a very high-profile recruit who could possibly impact a team to be a serious contender. Yet nationally, I'm not sure there has been even a mention of it outside of strictly college basketball related programming.

That's just one example...

Oh, I definitely know where you're coming from.

The media can be ridiculous. They'll run with anything, and even embellish things just to create controversy. When you're UK or Carolina, every single move by everyone involved with the program is scrutinized on a daily basis.

Its not the media this time around. NC wont be making the NCAA Tourney.

I think Wall is good, but everyone was a little too quick to fall in love with him. With that being said, he could still turn out to lead UK to a title (although I don't think he will) and be a stud in the NBA. He's so young, but I want to see more before he gets annointed( more than he already has been by many).

Cousins does seem to have a short fuse, but for the most part has been able to keep it under control.

I think Wall has been struggling as of late, and it's something he's not used to. And it seemsl like Cousins is becoming the primary offensive focus, which maybe doesn't sit well with Wall.

But it's important to understand that these guys are 18 years old and are dealing with pressures they've never experienced and dealing with more media attention than most other college players because they are at Kentucky.

I'm sure all is fine, and I have no doubt that Calipari will calm the waters and continue to have this team improve.

I would take that kind of 20-1 trouble brewing in Chapel Hill...

Lets face it ...the best team money can buy in collage...give it a couple yrs....like the old saying where there is smoke there's usally fire...!!!! follow's the coach around

best team $ can buy
coach cal is a crook