Cousins loves Kentucky

Apparently, Damarcus Cousins' decision to go to the NBA is tougher now that he's played at Kentucky.

DeMarcus Cousins readily admits he has thought about playing in the NBA for several years now. He’ll even acknowledge that he thought he would jump at a chance to leave Kentucky after one year for the NBA when he signed with the Wildcats a year ago.

Now he’s not quite so certain about his future, even though he’s had a monstrous freshman season going into Thursday’s game against Cornell in Syracuse, N.Y.

“Whenever I do decide to leave, I will miss this a lot, probably more than I ever thought,” Cousins said. “No matter where I have played or been, I have never been accepted like this. It just feels so good to be accepted.

“It is going to be a tough decision, much harder than I thought it ever would be. I have always dreamed of that next level, but we’ll have to see. Life is good at Kentucky for me.”

How good?

“I like everything about being here. The whole college life, the fans, the coaches, the team. I mean everything. It is like a big dream, especially with the success we are having. It is a perfect life right now,” said Cousins, who averages 15.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

“On campus, I have a lot of fun. Students come up and talk. It is just fun everywhere we go. We have the best fans in the nation, and students come up, too, just like we are normal people. I love being around all these great people.”

Smart people, bet on Kentucky.

It’s being billed as not just David vs. Goliath, but the kids who excel in the classroom against the ones who don’t even go.

Cornell and its Ivy League reputation vs. Kentucky and its team full of NBA prospects.

A Cornell coach in Steve Donahue who's spent nearly his entire career coaching at the finest academic institutions vs. a coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari, who's had a couple Final Four banners removed for transgressions that took place under his watch.