DeMarcus Cousins Gets Acquainted with Mississippi State's Student Body

Kentucky takes its No. 2 ranking to Starkville, Miss. on Tuesday to face Mississippi State, but the gamesmanship is already under way as a pretty decent chunk of Bulldogs fans are going after UK big man DeMarcus Cousins after getting his cell phone. Cousins talked with Kentucky scribes about it earlier this afternoon. (Warning: there is some offensive language in the clip.)

If you don't have time/can't watch the clip where you are, here are some of the highlights from Cousins:

I got called some n-words, some b's. It kind of made me mad in the beginning, but now I'm answering the phone and holding a conversation.

Some were racial and others, girls were like "let's make out." I don't know what they expect to start with. [Laughs]

In response to where the calls came from:

A lot of Mississippi numbers.

In response to whether the making out helps his game:

No, I won't be a part of that. [Laughs]

In response to whether he'll change his number:

I'm going to change it after the game. I want to see what they have to say then.

In response to being asked about the "best" call:

I was in the middle of an interview and someone called so I just went ahead and answered it. He started off, "What's up fa****?" And I was like, "What's up?" So I mean that was probably the best one.

On how he felt about the n-word being used:

They're just showing their ignorance.

On how many calls he's received:

I don't even know. ... Since after the game, probably 100. And text messages ... that's got to be close to 1,000.

And yes, he confirmed he does have unlimited texting. Cousins seems to be handling it all in stride, and he certainly seems to enjoy the attention, but given his propensity to drop a stray elbow or two, I'll be watching how he handles a riled-up crowd on Tuesday night. Based on what we've seen through about two-thirds of the season, his fuse doesn't look like it's the longest in college hoops.

(H/T to Blue Nation Blog for the video)

UPDATE: How is Cousins' phone number making the rounds? Well, the usual channels like message boards and Facebook, but how about bus shelters? So retro, Mississippi State.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.