John Wall pranked DeMarcus Cousins by telling him he was going to Duke

Did you know John Wall has a new podcast? For the second episode of “Point Game,” Wall brought in one of his best friends and former teammates DeMarcus Cousins. For almost an hour, Wall and Boogie swapped stories from their high school years and time at Kentucky and in the pros. One of the funniest stories is about how Wall pranked Cousins by telling him he was going to Duke, which sent his friend into a panic.

Wall and Cousins became buddies on the travel ball circuit in high school, to the point they decided they wanted to play together in college. Cousins originally committed to UAB but backed out of that pledge to play for John Calipari at Memphis. Wall had Memphis on his list but was also considering Miami and NC State. His AAU coach convinced him to visit Duke, although Wall was very skeptical about how he’d fit in with the Blue Devils.

“Duke was just something like, they just ain’t really fit me. I really wasn’t a Duke type of guy, to be realistic. Where I’m from, I don’t fit that type, so I knew — my AAU coach at the time, Brian Clifton, wanted me to take a visit there. I know about Coach K and the historics about it, so I’m like, alright, I’ll take a visit because it’s right up the street from me but in my mind, I’m like, Boog ain’t coming here. I know this. It ain’t happening. It’s off the radar.”

That didn’t stop him from having a little fun with Cousins.

“I called Boog and I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m about to commit to Duke’ and I hung up on him.”

“Bro, I was sick. I remember that like yesterday,” Cousins said. “He called me and that’s exactly how this phone call went. It wasn’t like easing in. It was like, ‘Bro, hey, what up? I’m going to Duke.’ Click. And I’m like, yo, what the ****? So I hit back, I called bro like ten times, like, ‘What’s up? No, man!'”

Of course, Wall did not commit to Duke. He was ready to commit to Memphis to play with Cousins but John Calipari called him and told him he was about to leave for Kentucky. The rest is history.

Check out the story below around the 25-minute mark:

Three Amigos at the Drake concert

Wall and Boogie talked at length about their time in Lexington, both the highs and the lows. Wall said he gets chills when he talks about that year because he has so many great memories. For Cousins, his favorite was the night he, Wall, and Eric Bledsoe — the “Three Amigos” — went to Drake’s concert at Memorial Coliseum after the season was over and before they started preparing for the NBA Draft.

“That moment where we all hugged each other, us all knowing each other’s backgrounds, all of us knowing each other’s stories, struggles, traumas, and us being in that moment about to take that next step in life, which we all dreamed about. And at the same time, we dreamed about it but in actuality, for us three, this **** wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Our realities wasn’t this. We weren’t the kids that were groomed from grade school to become these professional athletes. We were three project babies that got out of the mud and that’s what made that moment at that concert so special. We damn near came to tears because we were happy and proud of each other for the fact that we made it that far and was about to take our next step in our careers, which is being professional athletes.”

Awesome stuff. You can watch the entire podcast on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

DREAMS TO REALITY! 🙌 @JohnWall & @boogiecousins discuss their favorite memory from playing at @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/ByxxGNCjPg

— Point Game (@pointgamepod) February 29, 2024