Basketball Sports News:Wall and Cousins shine in NBA Summer League
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According to the Fresh Prince song, Summer is a time to sit back and unwind.
However, this isn’t the case in the NBA. In addition to the recent free agent frenzy the league staged its two summer leagues in Las Vegas and Orlando.
Summer League players can generally be grouped into two categories - the journeymen - pros trying to grab a roster spot or impress a European team and, more importantly, it gives the top picks in the recent draft their first taste of (almost) real NBA action.
In Vegas, two college teammates garnered the most attention. First overall pick John Wall from the University of Kentucky led the Washington Wizards to a 4-1 record, averaging 23.5 points a game and generally living up to the hype that led to him being tagged the one can’t miss project in last month’s NBA draft.
Meanwhile, his Wildcats teammate DeMarcus Cousins is as intriguing as Wall is assured.
Taken third by the Sacramento Kings, his physical tools (6ft11ins, 270lb frame and a deft touch around the rim) were never in question.
However, his attitude raised some red flags and he wasn’t helped by a series of bust-ups with his college coach John Calipari.
In Vegas, Cousins got off to a quick start before tailing off before the end of the week, but was impressive for the most part.
And if this game-winning shot against Minnesota is any indication, things might be looking up in Sactown.
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