Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski came to the defense of Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, whom he coached during a gold medal Olympic run with Team USA this summer.

Coach K joined colleague John Calipari in his new podcast Cal Cast on Thursday and chimed in on Cousins' ninth technical foul, which he planned the call the league about.

The three-time gold-medal-winning coach praised the big man for sticking with Team USA after initially being a part of the USA Select Team in 2012 following his lone season at Kentucky in 2009-10. Cousins was added to the national team in 2014 and won gold medals at that year's world championship in Madrid and subsequently the Rio de Janeiro Olympics this past summer.

“For him to come back and still want it, it said a lot about how much he wanted to do it,” Krzyzewski told Calipari. “He came through for us big time. He's tough as hell. He is so damn talented. I don't think he has a position. You can't call him a 5 or a 4. Just call him a great player.”

Krzyzewski added that Cousins “gets a bad rap sometimes” for his overly emotional play on the court and his sheer will to lead his team to victory.

DeMarcus Cousins is averaging 28.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks for the 10-17 Kings, while proving himself a much-improved three-point shooter, making 43 treys for the season at a 35.8 percent rate.