John Calipari explains how DeMarcus Cousins can win NBA MVP

There might not be a single player in the NBA who is more polarizing than DeMarcus Cousins.

To Boogie's detractors, Cousins is a hot-head, a guy who can't get along with coaches or his own teammates, and isn't worth the trouble his talent brings.

To his supporters, he is one of the most talented players in the league, most notably, the only player in the NBA last season to finish in the Top 5 in scoring and rebounding. They would also add that most of his "problems" were caused more by the chaos in Sacramento than by Cousins himself, and that in the two instances where he's been in a stable environment throughout his career (Kentucky and USA Basketball) he's thrived.

One person who clearly falls into the latter camp, is the man who coached him at Kentucky: John Calipari.

On Wednesday, Calipari was asked about Cousins, during an off-season media availability. He said that he believes Cousins could win NBA MVP ... if the Kings can ever get their house in order.

"He's in a great frame of mind, but they gotta get their stuff together so he can be who he is," Calipari said, with the quotes provided by the Louisville Courier-Journal. "Don't worry about coaching, don't worry about anything; just play and be an All-Star. If that team can win, if it can advance by the first round in the playoffs, I would say he will be in the equation for MVP in the NBA. He'll be in the conversation. And he should be. He's that good. He is that good."

"But you can't when your team's messed up. There is no MVP coming from a team that's winning 25, 30 games. You gotta be a 50-win team, a 55-win team, you gotta advance in the playoffs, and then all of a sudden you're one of the guys they're talking about. And he's got that kind of talent."

Say what you want about Calipari, but the one thing he has never been afraid to do, is always stick up for his guys (or as he calls them, his "sons").

This is just the latest example, but in this particular case, he appears to be 100 percent correct.

Cousins has stats that put him on par with any player in the league, but maybe the most important stat surrounding him is "six." That's the number of head coaches he's had in six seasons in the league, including three in the last three seasons.

We're certainly hoping that Dave Joerger is finally the answer in Sacramento.

Not just for the organization's sake, but for Boogie's as well.