By LARRY VAUGHT

DeMarcus Cousins can dominate a game and/or frustrate a coach at the same time. He can make a great play and/or make a horrible decision at almost the same time.

That’s the dilemma Kentucky coach John Calipari faces as he continues to try and mold Cousins into a dominant player within the team concept.

Both sides of Cousins were on display during UK’s two wins at Cancun last week, but they were especially visible in the 73-65 win over Stanford in Cancun Challenge title game.

The good news is that Cousins had 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks and compensated for a rare off night for star Patrick Patterson. The bad news is that he shot an air ball on a free throw in the second half, took an ill-advised 3-point shot he badly missed, and later missed two free throws — including going against Calipari’s wishes on the second one when he missed intentionally and then committed a foul.

Cousins told media members after the game he was “happy” UK won, but was “disappointed” in himself. But what’s wrong with that? He should have been upset with some of the mistakes he made down the stretch and to have been smiling and celebrating UK’s overtime win might have indicated he had no remorse for his play.

This made me think of a conversation I had with Cousins on UK’s Media Day in mid-October when I asked him about his personality — and he gave a great answer.

“I’m just me. I like to have fun. I’m a person just like everybody else. I’m not a superstar or something,” Cousins said. “I’m just a person like everybody else that likes to have fun. Having fun takes the pressure off of you a little. If you go out there and have fun, it gets you off of the negative and just helps a lot.

“I’m pretty mean on the court. I don’t smile much on the court. I guess it’s just another side of me. That’s the ‘Big Cuz’ side of me on the court. I can be mean. DeMarcus is what you see now; ‘Big Cuz’ is the ball player. When the lights go on, you get ‘Big Cuz.’ When it is time to chill and relax, you get DeMarcus.”

That followed a September conversation where the likable freshman told me he was a “bad ass on the court and teddy bear off it.”

Calipari knew Cousins was tumultuous when he recruited him. Even Cousins’ mother admitted he had never had to work hard to be a star player and that he tended to be lazy

Cousins is his own person. He’s the only UK player to wear a head band. “It is just something I have been doing since I started playing basketball. I like it.  It was something I tried and stuck with it. I wear the color of the uniform. My old coach always said if I make it big, I could start my own business with head bands,” Cousins said.

However, he’s also insightful and perceptive and recognizes his weaknesses.

“A lot of times I come out and play laid back. I need to come out with a better approach. I was very laid back in high school, so it’s just bad habits from back then,” Cousins said when trying to explain his tendency to get in early foul trouble and start games slowly

“In the high school level you can easily overpower everybody but at this level everybody is as strong as you, so you’re going to have to show skill. It’s just all an adjustment, regarding the speed and the strength.”

Cousins did average 13.5 points, six rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in Mexico. However, he also got called for a technical foul in the win over Cleveland State when he retaliated for a shot he took from a Cleveland State player earlier.

Yet when Calipari has to criticize or discipline him, Cousins listens. He volunteered not to start the second half of a game because teammate Daniel Orton had played better than him in the first half.

Cousins knew before he came to Kentucky that Calipari was a disciplinarian and would not tolerate foolishness.

“I heard about it from coaches that were recruiting me and other players. They were telling me how rough he was. They were basically saying stuff to prevent me from coming here. I didn’t pay much attention,” Cousins said. “I’ve just got to have better discipline. I make silly mistakes, and I know I make them. That’s my fault and he (Calipari) should be on me for that.”

Cousins was perhaps the first UK freshman to admit this year that defense had not been a priority until now. Call it the AAU mentality where scoring, not defense, is was counted.

“We have never had to care about defense that much before. We have to change. It is hard but you come out of high school as a top player, but you have a lot of bad habits. So it’s hard to change. We can be good, but we have to work on it.”

That’s Cousins. Honest, emotional, talented and still likey the key to whether the Cats are a good team or a potential Final Four team depending on how he matures and learns to play the way Calipari wants all the time.

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