DeMarcus Cousins wanted to return to Kentucky for another year.

The star center was an All-Everything in his first and only season with the Wildcats in 2009-10. A consensus All-American, an All-SEC selection, an All-Freshman selection, an All-SEC Tourney selection, and then an All-Region selection in the NCAA Tournament.

But Kentucky lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight that season, ending a magical campaign.

“This was the first time I enjoyed playing basketball. I felt loved. I felt like I could be (myself),” Cousins said this week on the KG Certified podcast with Kevin Garnett. “It was a peaceful environment. I could just be myself. I wasn’t being judged. They enjoyed me.”

And he wanted to stay and win a championship.

Until a conversation with coach John Calipari convinced him otherwise.

Boogie shared what Calipari told him and it stopped Garnett right in his tracks. “Damn,” Garnett said. “That was gangster.”

Calipari has said his goal at Kentucky is to send players to the NBA. And he wanted to see Cousins get to the NBA.

“I had a conversation with Cal. I’m like, ‘Cal, I’m thinking about coming back.’ Me and Cal’s conversation,  this was an end-of-the-year meeting, and our conversation lasted about 3 minutes,” Cousins recalled. “Cal was like, ‘All I’ve got to say is this: if you want to take care of your family, you’re gonna leave. If you want to take care of my family, you’re gonna stay.’

“That was our conversation. Went on, moved to the next phase.”

Cousins was selected No. 5 overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA Draft. He was a 4-time NBA All-Star, a 2-time All-NBA selection, and an All-Rookie selection during his first year in the pros.

According to Spotrac data, Cousins earned $94.2 million across 12 NBA seasons.