Wizards' John Wall finally gets first game against DeMarcus Cousins

John Wall was in full uniform, full warmups, and prepared to play last month in Sacramento - but his sore left foot wouldn't cooperate. Angrily leaning over with his arms wrapped around his knees, he sat on the bench for the entire excruciating defeat, as the Washington Wizards suffered one of their worst whippings of the season against a fellow occupant in the NBA cellar.

Of the 12 games Wall has missed this season because of injuries, the Wizards' 116-91 loss to the Sacramento Kings was one of the most upsetting to sit out because it also delayed his first professional matchup against friend and former Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins. Wall and Cousins talked after the game, but the usual playful banter was somewhat muted because the No. 1 overall pick was injured.

"I'm mad. I'm disappointed I missed the game up there, but I didn't want to force myself to play when I couldn't," Wall said. "The Miami game, Sacramento game, all of them. [Sitting out against the Kings on Dec. 8] really was devastating because in the beginning of the season, I was playing with energy and being myself. Now I'm still doing a little bit, but it's not the same. I'm not as explosive, so I have to change it up, how I play."

Wall and Cousins, the fifth overall pick, will finally square off for the first time as the Wizards (9-26) host the Kings on Tuesday at Verizon Center. Both players have experienced considerable challenges in their rookie seasons - Wall, with injuries, and Cousins, with occasional immaturity - and dealt with more losses than they have ever experienced playing basketball.

At this time last year, Wall and Cousins were freshmen hotshots atop college basketball on a 16-0 Kentucky team. Now, they are in the opposite spot, on teams that have won a combined 17 games (and 52 losses) and appear headed back to the NBA lottery. But at least they have each other, and fellow rookie and former Kentucky teammate Eric Bledsoe of the Los Angeles Clippers, to help them though the adjustment.

"It's a tough experience from last year, we won a lot of games, and then this year, we're losing," Wall said. "It's been tough. Throughout my whole career, I really haven't lost a lot of games, so it's a learning experience for me. I'm cool with it, but I'm trying to get through it mentally. In the games at times, you can tell the frustration that I'm going through on my face."

"But when you're drafted this high, you've got to go through bumps and bruises in a rebuilding. It's pretty tough for us, but we're doing a great job of fighting through it. Just try to finish out our rookie seasons as good as we can."

Wall said that he keeps tabs on Cousins, his college roommate, and communicates with him through text messages and Skype, but never calls to talk after games.

"I don't call a man at night time," Wall joked, adding that his conversations with Cousins are usually filled with laughter. "We never talk smack. It always turns into joking around, so it never gets serious."

The Kings practiced at Verizon Center on Monday, giving Cousins the chance to stop by Wall's apartment afterward to play video games. Cousins said that it helps that he isn't alone through this journey "because you have one of your brothers who is going through the same thing. It would be different if one of us was winning and trying to give each other advice. 'Of course you can say that, because you're winning.' Being on the losing end and trying to stay positive, it's a tough task to do, but it's part of growing in this league. It's a tough situation, but we just try to lift each other up when we get a chance to."

Wall and Cousins entered the season as favorites to win the rookie of the year and have had some stellar performances although Clippers forward Blake Griffin, the top choice in 2009, appears to be running away with the contest. Cousins is averaging 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Kings (8-26) and has come on strong of late, averaging 21.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in his past six games.

Wall has scored more than 20 points only once since he returned on Dec. 26 in San Antonio from a bone bruise under his right kneecap, but he has also handed out 10 or more assists in four of his past seven games. He said he has had to adjust his game some with Rashard Lewis adding perimeter scoring and Nick Young emerging as a reliable scorer.

"A lot of people say, 'Why not shoot more? Try to get rookie of year.' And all that. But I feel like I can score when the time comes, and when the team needs me to," said Wall, who has the second-highest scoring average among rookies at 15.4 points and ranks fifth in NBA with 8.8 assists. "The main thing that's tough is the injuries. I've never been injured like that. To miss a lot of games and to try to get myself back in tune. In college or high school, you don't have too many games back to back. In the NBA, you have three or four games in one week."

Wall said that he isn't competing with Cousins to finish with more victories this season, because the Kings are "on a different side. We just trying getting better. I'm trying to keep developing, trying to get better. On this side, the crazy part, we only like [five] games away from a playoff spot. Not saying we can get it, but if we can just get on a winning streak and get better as a team, we could have a shot at it."

And that could start with a win against his good friend Cousins's team.

"It's going to be fun," Wall said. "I can't wait to finally play against him for the first time."