DeMarcus Cousins: Can Sacramento Kings' Rookie Become Next Great NBA Center?

DeMarcus Cousins might look like a full grown man to most people, but despite his impressive size and athleticism, the rookie is just your average 20-year old boy.

Checking in at 6'11" and 270 pounds, it's frightening to think that Cousins is still developing.

Unfortunately, the rookie is still firmly in the midst of a painful maturation process that scared most teams away from his sky-high potential on draft day before the 2010-11 season.

Best illustrated by his most recent spat with teammate Donte Greene that resulted in Cousins' virtual one-game suspension and a significant fine ($41,000 to be exact), the rollercoaster ride of emotion is far from over.

However, if Cousins is ever going to blossom in the way that many expect and deliver on his enormous potential, he's going to have to put his temper and immature actions firmly behind him.

Based off of talent alone, it's conceivable that the big man could have rivaled John Wall to be the number-one overall pick. In fact, most general managers would favor Cousins if all other factors held equal given the fact that he's sure to be a legitimate seven-footer in this league for a long time.

But talent isn't all it takes to play at the highest level.

The Kentucky product has a documented history of temper tantrums dating back to before his tenure in college even began. Cousins saw an inconsistent Evan Turner, an incredibly raw Derrick Favors and a 23-year old swingman in Wes Johnson drafted ahead of him.

The drop from a possible second overall pick to fifth overall cost the big man a cool $1.2 million before he ever even took the hardwood at the professional level.

But there is a reason that Cousins continues to get chance after chance, and anyone who has seen his impressive play knows exactly why the league would be better off with Cousins' emergence as a blossoming star.

Although most statistics from All-Star weekend can be discarded, DeMarcus delivered on his potential to a national audience when he dominated the Rookie Challenge with an insane line of 33 points and 14 rebounds on 14-25 shooting from the floor (56 percent).

He's got impressive range for someone of his even more impressive stature, regularly knocking down jumpers from 15-19 feet out, and he's even knocked in a couple of three-pointers this season as well. Additionally, Cousins can back it down in the post and bang around with the biggest bodies around the league...and he's still getting bigger.

The Sacramento Kings have taken a lot of flack for how Cousins has represented himself as a professional athlete thus far in the very early stages of his career, but like any 20-year old boy, Cousins is still maturing into a man.

It might be a high-risk investment, but it has the potential to be the best one that the Sacramento Kings have made in quite some time.