Demarcus Cousins

LEXINGTON - Every day, Andrew Rogers has to remind himself he's not dreaming when he awakes. “Sometimes I sit back and think, 'Am I really here or really there?'” he said. “It's just so much fun.” The George Rogers Clark graduate serves as a manager for former University of Kentucky standout and Sacramento Kings standout DeMarcus Cousins and making sure his schedule is intact and performing other pertinent duties. Rogers and Cousins have been close for more than two years, and one is hardly spotted in public without the other.

LEXINGTON, - The University of Kentucky men's basketball program received a National Letter of Intent from DeMarcus Cousins, Coach John Calipari announced on Wednesday. Cousins, a senior at LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala., is rated as the top power forward in the country according to Rivals.com. The 6-9 Cousins averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds as a senior, earning Parade All-American honors as he led the LeFlore Rattlers (29-3) to a berth in the Class 5A state semifinals.

LEXINGTON ? For DeMarcus Cousins, the games he most wanted to play this year were against defending national champion North Carolina and home-state Alabama. Yet the Kentucky freshmen didn't need long to find out those games were not the ones that mattered the most to UK fans. Instead, it is Louisville, the team unbeaten Kentucky hosts Saturday afternoon. "At the beginning of the season, that was all they (fans) were really talking about. It was like, 'Forget the rest of the games.

What will Kentucky's lineup look like next season? Now that Jodie Meeks won't be returning, John Calipari will have several options to choose from once practice begins in four months. Considering the high-class recruits he has signed since taking over as coach at Kentucky on April 1, Calipari won't be lacking in talent and will have three or more choices when it comes to a starting lineup. Here are a few possibilities: (A) John Wall, Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins.

John Calipari has reportedly secured his first recruit one week after officially being introduced as Kentucky's basketball coach. According to ESPN.com, prized prospect DeMarcus Cousins (6-foot-10), committed to the Cats Tuesday night. Cousins, one of the top prospects in the nation out of LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala., averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds last season. Cousins originally verbally committed to UAB and later Memphis. Daniel Orton, another top prospect from Oklahoma City, also is expected to join the Wildcats next season.

John Calipari has reportedly secured his first recruit one week after officially being introduced as Kentucky's basketball coach. According to ESPN.com, prized prospect DeMarcus Cousins (6-foot-10), committed to the Cats Tuesday night. Cousins, one of the top prospects in the nation out of LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala., averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds last season. Cousins originally verbally committed to UAB and later Memphis. Daniel Orton, another top prospect from Oklahoma City, also is expected to join the Wildcats next season.

Maybe they won't be on the Olympic team, but former University of Kentucky standouts John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins will have a chance to play a role in helping the United States win the gold medal. The former Wildcats were two of the players named Monday to the USA select team that will train against the USA national team July 6-12 in Las Vegas. That national team will include Anthony Davis, the most outstanding player in the Final Four when he helped UK¿win the national title. Cousins just completed his second season in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings where he averaged a double-double with 18.1 points per game (second best on the team)

LEXINGTON - He knows it's not like other games, but Kentucky senior Darius Miller insists the Wildcats have to treat Saturday's nationally televised game with Louisville like it is just another game. “We can't take it like it is a different game. We can't get into all the hype and all of that,” said Miller. “We have to continue to do what we need to do and listen to Coach (John Calipari). We can't let our emotions get the best of us and let it get out of hand. We have to come out and treat it like another game and hopefully come out with a win.” Miller knows saying that is one thing.

LEXINGTON - Darius Miller says having Anthony Davis' shot-blocking ability in the middle of the Kentucky defense makes it easier to play defense. “It kind of allows us to play more aggressive. We know he is back there and is a great shot blocker,” said Miller. “Even if he doesn't block the shot, 90 percent of the time he is altering the shot. That makes our job a lot easier. We can play more aggressive and we trust each other a lot more because he is back there helping. “It just makes everything easier.

Kansas center Willie Cauley might not quite the same lofty high school reputation as DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis or some other players John Calipari has recruited have had, but his potential could be every bit as good. Or at least that is what Paul Biancardi, the national recruiting director for ESPN Scouts Inc., believes. "How good he will be versus how good he will be right now is exactly the right way and best way to put it. He is still learning and finding his way. He has size, athletic ability, bounce, shot blocking ability.

LEXINGTON - Every day, Andrew Rogers has to remind himself he's not dreaming when he awakes. “Sometimes I sit back and think, 'Am I really here or really there?'” he said. “It's just so much fun.” The George Rogers Clark graduate serves as a manager for former University of Kentucky standout and Sacramento Kings standout DeMarcus Cousins and making sure his schedule is intact and performing other pertinent duties. Rogers and Cousins have been close for more than two years, and one is hardly spotted in public without the other.

Paul Biancardi, the national recruiting director for ESPN Scouts Inc., believes the 2011 Boost Mobile Elite 24 has “exceptional talent” on both sides that certainly includes a number of players whom Kentucky coach John Calipari and his staff are targeting for their 2012 recruiting class. “I think the talent this year is more exceptional than any other year we've had,” said Biancardi, who has 18 years of Division I coaching experience and coached against Calipari. “There are guys who are more than just great athletes in the game.

Editor’s note: Reader Jo Ann Rice has been to both the Final Four and the royal wedding this spring. Rice shared how her experiences were similar in some ways as she was traveling from London to Paris to complete her European vacation. What a spring it’s been! Since March, I’ve been so fortunate to be able to travel for pleasure and not just for work. While the trips to Newark, N.J., Houston, and London (England) may seem to be quite dissimilar, I’ve actually found that it’s been a great season to be a fan of Kentucky, royalty and that beautiful shade of royal blue.

Two years ago Friday, John Calipari was introduced as the men’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. At the time of his hiring, the program was coming off a rare appearance in the NIT and a rocky two-year tenure under Billy Gillispie. With Gillispie at the helm, the Wildcats went 40-27 and appeared to be headed in the wrong direction and failed to return to the forefront on the collegiate scene. Calipari wanted the job when Gillispie was hired in 2007, but waited two more seasons before the Kentucky administration took a chance on him. Calipari, known as a fearless recruiter, with a reputation of landing the nation’s top prep players, rebuilt the program in a matter of months.

University of Kentucky president Lee Todd thought he was hiring a solid basketball coach when John Calipari joined the Wildcats two years ago. Now that Calipari has gone 64-11 in two seasons and taken last year’s team to the Elite Eight and this team to the Final Four, Todd is even more impressed. “The more I see him on a daily basis, and how he coaches and teaches players, the more proud I am of the decision we made,” said Todd after UK beat North Carolina in Newark, N.J., Sunday to earn a berth in this weekend’s Final Four in Houston.

LEXINGTON — John Calipari knew Kentucky would not be a great rebounding team this year after losing DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton to the NBA draft. However, the UK coach thought the Wildcats would rebound better. “That’s an ongoing issue. The biggest thing is the rebound attempts against Tennessee and Florida are so glaring. Just attempting, listen to me … attempt. All we are asking is for you to attempt to get the ball,” Calipari said.