DeMarcus Cousins on Kentucky: "No Boogie without that place. It wouldn't even exist."

You know the way Mark Pope talks about his first group in Lexington this past season, an island of misfit portal toys coming together to push for something bigger than themselves? That laid the foundation and set the standard for how the new era of Kentucky basketball would look, players understanding what it means to wear the jersey and suit up for the most passionate fanbase in the sport.

For John Calipari, that first group in 2009-10 set the standard for his era, headlined by John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Their goal? Prove you can load up on future NBA stars and form superteams to compete for championships. The players would likely only be there for eight months as one-and-dones, but they’d win a ton of games and you’d get to root for them for the rest of their professional careers. Overwhelming roster turnover, but Kentucky became the cool program again with kids growing up wanting to be the next Wall or Boogie.

The latter feels he was a part of history with that team, steamrolling through the regular season before losing in an Elite Eight heartbreaker to West Virginia.

“Regardless of how much talent comes through Kentucky, I feel like our class will always be the most special one,” Cousins said on the Run Your Race Podcast. “And it’s not because we were the first or we were the best or whatever the case may be. It’s because we set a standard. We set a standard and that standard turned into Anthony Davis and that championship team. That standard turned into Karl (-Anthony Towns) and the platoon (in 2014-15) and all of those things.

“Just to see the history that was made, and all of the talent to come through there, they all followed that same standard that we helped set and put in place.”

As impactful as that team was and Cousins’ role as the frontcourt star, Kentucky had a similar impact on Boogie’s life personally. In fact, there would be no Boogie without his time in Lexington, what he calls the best year of his life in basketball.

Big Blue Nation is a big reason for that.

“The day I stepped foot on the UK campus, it was go time. Go time, no looking back. I’m like, ‘Oh, this is it.’ I mean, til this day, my best years ever when it comes to basketball — at any level,” Cousins said. “One of the most fun times, most genuine times. It was a group of guys that really, really cared and loved each other. I mean, the UK fanbase is insane, and that was 15 years ago. They still support us like we were there last week.

“That place is always gonna have a place in my heart. I mean, they helped me — it wouldn’t be no Boogie without that place. It wouldn’t even exist, you know what I mean?”

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though — Cousins controversially said last spring that “everything Calipari brings to a program is going to go down if they replace this guy” before he left for Arkansas and was replaced by Mark Pope, you may recall. He didn’t appreciate the criticism his former coach was getting following the Oakland loss in 2024 and took up for his guy, understandably.

You can’t blame him, considering Coach Cal is the reason Cousins earned generational wealth and star status as a pro. Kentucky gave him the platform, but Calipari gave him the opportunity, both things making him what he is today.

“So much. He made me grow up, he taught me how to be a pro. He taught me how to sacrifice and continue to play the game the right way,” Cousins said. “He taught all of us that. He taught us that no one player was more important than the next. Like, you can be the star guy, but you still need your supporting cast. You can’t be a star without the supporting cast, right? Play for one another, sacrifice for one another, all of those things.”

His 2009-10 team is often brought up as one of the best in recent memory, joined by the 2014-15 squad that nearly went undefeated at 38-1. The 2011-12 group has the hardware to back up that legendary status with banner No. 8, but how would those other close-but-no-cigar rosters stack up?

“That Kentucky team? Man, that team was loaded. They were loaded. They had like three starting fives! Do I think we could beat them? I mean, yeah, in college basketball,” Cousins said. “When it comes to college basketball, you never know what can happen. I know that we were some dogs. I know we were confident and I know we were fearless. With those three intangibles, being in college, I’m gonna say yeah (we could win).”

2009-10 could pull off the win, but who was truly better? 2014-15 may just be the most talented team ever assembled at this level.

“Do I think that (2014-15) team has more talent? Hell yeah. That might be the most talented college team ever. I don’t think it’s — regardless if they won or not, that roster shows that in college basketball, anything can happen. It’s just the same thing that happened with us in the tournament.”

Was this Kentucky team the most talented college basketball team EVER? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/NRHPcUyLAs

— Run Your Race Podcast (@RunYourRaceTL) July 3, 2025

You can hear more of Boogie’s Kentucky and Coach Cal stories on the Run Your Race Podcast below.