DeMarcus Cousins joining fellow former UK stars, NBA vets in Puerto Rico pro league

Former University of Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins’ next basketball stop will be in Puerto Rico.

The 32-year-old Cousins, who has not played in the NBA this season, “will play this spring there to continue to try and find a pathway back to the NBA,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.

Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star who has played for seven teams over 11 seasons, has averaged 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds in his NBA career. He’ll be joining the Guaynabo Mets, a team that has started the season 1-8.

The Mets’ leading scorer is Australian Mitch Creek at 21.9 points per game. Former North Carolina star Ed Davis is the team’s and league’s top rebounder at 16.3 per contest.

Cousins, who averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 13.9 minutes for the Denver Nuggets in 2021-22 in his most recent NBA stop, will be one of three former Kentucky stars playing in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league.

Brandon Knight, 31, is the league’s leading scorer at 24.3 points per game while averaging 6.1 assists and a league-best 3.6 three-pointers. He teams with former Marshall standout Hassan Whiteside (23.7 points and 15.8 rebounds) on the league-best 8-1 Quebradillas Piratas.

Ex-Cat Aaron Harrison, 28, averages 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.9 three-pointers for the Arecibo Capitanes (5-3).

Cousins played for Kentucky in 2009-10 and averaged 15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots. Knight averaged 17.3 points and 4.2 assists in his lone season with the Cats in 2010-11. Harrison played two seasons at UK (2013-14 and 2014-15) and averaged 12.4 points.

Some other notable players competing in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league include Tyreke Evans, who played for UK head coach John Calipari at Memphis; former Louisville star Earl Clark; and Jaysean Paige, a native of New York who played one season at Perry County Central High School before college stops at Southern Idaho, Moberly Area Community and West Virginia.

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