DeMarcus Cousins Wants to Play for the U.S. Olympic Team

Following his breakout second season in the NBA, DeMarcus Cousins seems to believe he’s good enough to play in the Olympics this summer. From the Sac Bee: “USA Basketball czar Jerry Colangelo is inviting Cousins to join the Select team of young NBA stars who will train with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the other 2012 Olympians in July and then form the nucleus of future national teams. Cousins wanted more. He wanted to be on the Olympic team now. ‘We’re going to add another one or two players to our (finalist) list,’ Colangelo said Tuesday from Las Vegas. ‘Cousins will not be one of them. But we’ve been told he is very interested in playing with the Select team, and that will get him in the cycle for (future) teams.’ After everything that has transpired in Cousins’ brief but eventful NBA career, just being included in the Team USA conversation is a coup. Cousins should forget about Kings and Queens and the London Bridge, and concern himself with dominating the training sessions in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. ‘Statistically, you can easily make the argument that DeMarcus is in the group of the top 20 players already,’ said John Greig, Cousins’ agent. ‘But it’s so easy to pencil him in, saying this is who he is. I do think the (perception) is changing, though.’ Greig’s right. It is. And if injuries continue crippling the 2012 squad? U.S. centers are precious and few, and very few are as gifted or as physical or durable as Cousins. With Dwight Howard unavailable because of a back injury, the finalists list includes one true center – Tyson Chandler. Andrew Bynum isn’t interested. So never say never.”