Kings Showcase Young Talents Fredette, Cousins
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Two of the Sacramento Kings' youngest players ruled the court at media day on Thursday — rookie Jimmer Fredette and second-year big man DeMarcus Cousins.
"It's just an honor to be here, be going through this and be part of the Kings organization," said Fredette, the hugely popular guard who set scoring records at BYU and set off "Jimmer Time" mania.
And last year's talented rookie, Cousins, who was riticized at times for his dour disposition, used Media Day for his own stand-up comedy routine.
"What's the difference between this year and last year for your personally?" he was asked by CBS13.
"We got black jerseys," he dead-panned.
Yes, the Kings do have new black jerseys, but they also have higher expectations than they have in years.
"We see a great future for this team and we hope the future is in this city as well," coach Paul Westphal said.
That future looked bleak here in Sacramento at the end of last season. The team was poised to move south to Anaheim. The city now has a March 1 deadline to have an arena financing deal in place. Mayor Kevin Johnson is set to sit down with NBA Commissioner David Stern on Friday to update him on the city's progress for a downtown sports and entertainment complex.
Fan support was a big reason Stern pushed the Maloof ownership group to stay another season in Sacramento. Kings forward Donte Green said the team now has to reward the sixth man.
"We got to win and at the end of the day people want to see good games and wins," he said.
Along with wins, the Kings are hoping "Jimmer Mania" translates to ticket sales.
Is he feeling any pressure to be a Sacramento savior?
"No not really," he said. "I don't think it's just going to be me necessarily, it's going to be our team, and hopefully we can do that and we can keep the team here."
After the Kings finished up with the media, they prepared for their first preseason game Saturday with an open scrimmage in front of the fans Thursday night. They open the regular season the day after Christmas at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.
