Shaka Smart on Isaiah Cousins

[OUHoops]

http://texas.247sports.com/Article/...l-vs-Oklahoma-preview-Isaiah-Cousins-43947813

Isaiah Cousins the teaching tool
Buddy Hield is the star of the Oklahoma backcourt.

The quick-to-smile, sharp-shooting Jamaican averages more points (25.1) than any other high-major player on the strength of shooting a scorching 48 percent from behind the arc. It was Hield’s 27-point outburst and last-second 3-pointer that carried Oklahoma past Texas on Feb. 8 for a 63-60 home win. The senior’s 12 straight points down the stretch also put the Sooners in position to earn the victory.

While he doesn’t draw as much national praise as Hield, Oklahoma senior point guard Isaiah Cousins had the full attention of Shaka Smart when the Longhorns prepared for the Sooners the first time. A few weeks later, Cousins remains in Smart’s focus.

“I actually use him as an example for some of our guys,” Smart said. “A lot of times guys don’t like listening to superlatives about other guys in their league. But I don’t care. I want them to hear about a guy like Cousins.”

A 6-foot-4 guard from Mont Vernon, New York, Cousins plays with a certain sense of bravado on the court. A stark contrast to Heild’s wide grins, Cousins barks and claps at opponents, a trash-talking and free-wheeling presence on the perimeter.

It’s Cousins’ demeanor and swagger that really appeals to Smart.

“I don’t know him at all, but I think he’s decided this is what my persona is going to be on the court and ‘I don’t care whether you like or not,’ Smart said. “It gives them a level of attitude, swagger and screw you. I think you need that.”

Smart will occasionally mention micro-behaviors – personality ticks on the court – to his team and how he wants the players to use them consistently. If a Tevin Mack is going to clap his hands after a 3-pointer, Smart wants that same level of bluster if things aren’t going his way.

Cousins epitomizes that attitude for Smart.

Hield received the headlines after Oklahoma’s win over Texas, but without a trio of 3s from Cousins to stall Texas runs, Hield’s late-game heroics would have mattered little.

Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger moved Cousins from off the ball to on it this offseason in order to utilize Cousins’ strengths better. A dependable playmaker and a strong driver of the basketball, Cousins has morphed into an all-conference level player his senior year.

More importantly, his control of the offense allows him be the emotional epicenter of the Sooners. He’s an always swaggering presence that injects a dose of confidence into his Oklahoma teammates when needed.

It’s something Smart wants his team, a group he often says is not the most naturally confident, to learn from.

 

[AdaSooner]

“I don’t know him at all, but I think he’s decided this is what my persona is going to be on the court and ‘I don’t care whether you like or not,’ Smart said. “It gives them a level of attitude, swagger and screw you. I think you need that.”

Cousins attitude and swagger are nothing new for him. That's just who he is. He's a "street-baller" from Mt. Vernon, New York, who came to OU with his personality firmly rooted in the environment he grew up in.

I love that about Isaiah! He plays with a fire in his belly that comes from developing his game in tough neighborhoods not far from New York City. Playing in fancy basketball arenas is not intimidating for him. Just ask him how he feels about it.


Oklahoma basketball: 'The playground's more intense' says Isaiah Cousins

Written By News OK Posted: 01/30/2016, 06:00pm

Oklahoma senior guard Isaiah Cousins grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., just outside of New York City. When LSU fans showed Cousins and his teammates with boos—and soda and who knows what else—as they left the floor Saturday following a 77-75 come-from-behind win over LSU, Cousins was in an embrace from teammate Dinjiyl Walker and both returned some of the verbal jabs that were directed their way.

 

[j2d2]

When the neighborhood is so tough that you get shot in thde shoulder going down the street, you are tough by inclination and experience and not by show.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I think that attitude helped him overcome the slump he was in earlier, too. He was probably frustrated but I don't think he ever lost confidence in himself.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think that attitude helped him overcome the slump he was in earlier, too. He was probably frustrated but I don't think he ever lost confidence in himself.

That, and sleeping on a sofa in the practice facility until he got out of his slump.

 

[Max Power]

That, and sleeping on a sofa in the practice facility until he got out of his slump.

Honestly, I think that prolonged the slump. He couldn't have been getting good sleep on the sofa, and he wasn't ever getting away to decompress. But either way, he is ballin out right now and we need him to continue to play well today to take some pressure off Buddy