In about a month, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins will be heading to Las Vegas as a member of USA Men's Basketball Select Team, scrimmaging with the USA Basketball National Team.
Cousins was one of 13 players named to the Select Team, including former Kentucky teammate and runner-up for the 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year John Wall and 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving.
Like any other player would feel, Cousins said he was excited to hear the news. "It's a stepping stone," he said. "It's going to be a great experience.
"You get a chance to be around some of the elite players in this league, so I plan on learning a lot from them and I'm going to take advantage of the situation."
Other than showcasing himself to make the Olympic roster, Cousins also sees this as a chance to improve his leadership skills going into next season.
"My main focus is to come back a better leader," he said. "Learning from the elite guys in the league who are already leaders on their team."
The Kings could use a player to step up as a leader. The team finished with the fifth-worst record during the regular season. Cousins says the team needs to improve "all-around."
"We're a young team," he said. "We have no All-Stars, so everybody needs to improve."
Cousins said that he wants to improve his conditioning, post moves, shooting, defense. He'll be in Sacramento training before leaving for Las Vegas, but one thing's for sure. It's going to be a busy summer for Cousins.
The Select Team will have a training session on July 5 and scrimmage with the National Team from July 6-11.
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