Quentin Grimes

[clyde21]

my boy QG deserves his own thread -- absolutely killing it so far in Houston, this is really how he should've been used last year, more on-ball...last year he was playing off Dotson who was terrible and it killed his entire rhythm really from the get go, even tho Grimes is actually good off-ball which is why he's so valuable to me.

last 5 games: 20.4ppg / 4.6rpg / 4.0apg / 1.0spg on 49/38/77.

[Jamaaliver]

my boy QG deserves his own thread -- absolutely killing it so far in Houston, this is really how he should've been used last year, more on-ball...last year he was playing off Dotson who was terrible and it killed his entire rhythm really from the get go, even tho Grimes is actually good off-ball which is why he's so valuable to me.

last 5 games: 20.4ppg / 4.6rpg / 4.0apg / 1.0spg on 49/38/77.

I was curious if any NBA team would make a promise to him in the 2nd round, identifying that he clearly had talent that was being misused in Kansas and draft him anyway.

I'm glad to hear he's doing well in TX and that he didn't need to sit out a year.

After losing spot at Kansas, Quentin Grimes is thriving at Houston



Grimes, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard who transferred from Kansas, is multitalented; he's a proficient scorer, a strong defender and checks a lot of the boxes coaches look for. When Sampson looks at the stat sheet and sees a "4" under Grimes' rebound total, though, he wants that to nearly double. That willingness, not just to rebound but to improve every aspect of his game, is driving Grimes in a solid start to his second collegiate season, a year after an up-and-down freshman campaign with the Jayhawks.

Through eight games, Grimes is Houston's leading scorer (16.9 points per game) and the team's best defender, according to Sampson. Notably, when Grimes was courted as a recruit by major programs across the country, the one 36 miles south of his high school (College Park in The Woodlands, Texas) wasn't one of them.

"We didn't recruit him at all," Sampson said.

Grimes, a five-star recruit who was the No. 8 overall player in the 2018 ESPN 100, had his pick of blue bloods. Though he started all 36 games as a true freshman, Grimes didn't flourish in Lawrence quite like he'd hoped.

"Every situation isn't always the right fit for the person's particular skill set," his father, Marshall Grimes, said.

After his freshman season, Quentin went through the pre-draft process, attended the NBA draft combine in Chicago, worked out for multiple teams and received valuable feedback. He said most of the projections he received had him going early to middle in the second round, so he withdrew his name from the draft.

Spoiler:

Grimes decided to return to school, but he found out quickly that school would not be Kansas. Self had filled his scholarship spot, and said in a statement in May that he initially anticipated Quentin staying in the draft. Grimes was left no choice but to enter his name in the transfer portal.

Once Grimes chose Houston, there was one important task to settle: whether he would be able to obtain a waiver to play immediately.

This past offseason, the NCAA's Division I council adjusted the guidelines for transfer waivers. In cases where a player couldn't return to his previous team (like Grimes), the releasing school could provide a statement from the athletic director stating so, and explaining why the player was transferring. The player must also show that the situation was outside of his or her control.

"Bill's a big reason why Quentin got eligible," Sampson said, "the support he got from Kansas and then the way that that message was relayed to the NCAA."

Kansas made it clear that Grimes was in good standing -- he simply wouldn't have a spot. The biggest remaining hang-up was the length of the process. Grimes transferred to Houston in July, and the school filed for the waiver in mid-August but didn't get an answer from the NCAA until early October. And his first answer was a denial.

"Quentin Grimes is our best defensive player," Sampson said. "We put him on the other team's best player ... That boy's got good feet."

Grimes said he is enjoying emphasizing that part of his game.

"I know I can play defense and kind of contain my man, but now I'm kind of taking it a little bit more personal," he said. "I kind of want to shut them down."

And there's still plenty of room to grow. His coaches and those close to him are excited about his progress and his potential. Grimes, meanwhile, is happy and thriving in his new home and feels validated in his decision.

ESPN

[clyde21]

really like Grimes but he still has these head scratching games like yesterday where he just completely disappears, like he has games of 21, 24 and 32 points and then follows them up with games of 8, 10 and 0 points.

he flashes elite playmaking and scoring ability, but then has complete duds like yesterday, not sure what it is, but he needs to find that consistency, i wanna keep him in my top10 but he needs to be more consistent.

[The-Power]

really like Grimes but he still has these head scratching games like yesterday where he just completely disappears, like he has games of 21, 24 and 32 points and then follows them up with games of 8, 10 and 0 points.

he flashes elite playmaking and scoring ability, but then has complete duds like yesterday, not sure what it is, but he needs to find that consistency, i wanna keep him in my top10 but he needs to be more consistent.

To me, the issue seems to be that there is nothing he can really rely on offensively. I like him as a secondary playmaker at the next level; he is a fine defender, solid size and rebounds well. He is fairly strong but can struggle to make use of that. On some days, he has it going offensively – but when he doesn't then he struggles to find ways to get into the game on that end. His shot is unreliable, his finishing around the rim comes and goes, he is not the quickest and cannot take defenders off the dribble reliably.

He needs to develop some areas he can resort back to when his flow is disrupted, so as to keep being useful: catch-and-shoot 3's, midrange pull-ups, taking bigs off the dribble or finishing over smaller guards. He can do that, I think, but it's not a given that he really gets there. He's worth a 1st at this point, I'd say, but for more I'd have to see more consistency on offense as you rightly point out.

[clyde21]

really like Grimes but he still has these head scratching games like yesterday where he just completely disappears, like he has games of 21, 24 and 32 points and then follows them up with games of 8, 10 and 0 points.

he flashes elite playmaking and scoring ability, but then has complete duds like yesterday, not sure what it is, but he needs to find that consistency, i wanna keep him in my top10 but he needs to be more consistent.

To me, the issue seems to be that there is nothing he can really rely on offensively. I like him as a secondary playmaker at the next level; he is a fine defender, solid size and rebounds well. He is fairly strong but can struggle to make use of that. On some days, he has it going offensively – but when he doesn't then he struggles to find ways to get into the game on that end. His shot is unreliable, his finishing around the rim comes and goes, he is not the quickest and cannot take defenders off the dribble reliably.

He needs to develop some areas he can resort back to when his flow is disrupted, so as to keep being useful: catch-and-shoot 3's, midrange pull-ups, taking bigs off the dribble or finishing over smaller guards. He can do that, I think, but it's not a given that he really gets there. He's worth a 1st at this point, I'd say, but for more I'd have to see more consistency on offense as you rightly point out.

that's definitely a fair assessment, but I think he has enough off-the-dribble ability to be able to get his own shot most of the time, but sometimes it seems like he loses confidence in it or just disengages mentally and just kinda goes thru the motions.

he has such an intriguing all around game that I think those go-to moves if he develops could really propel him into something special, but it's not an easy fix at all.

[Roddy B for 3]

really like Grimes but he still has these head scratching games like yesterday where he just completely disappears, like he has games of 21, 24 and 32 points and then follows them up with games of 8, 10 and 0 points.

he flashes elite playmaking and scoring ability, but then has complete duds like yesterday, not sure what it is, but he needs to find that consistency, i wanna keep him in my top10 but he needs to be more consistent.

To me, the issue seems to be that there is nothing he can really rely on offensively. I like him as a secondary playmaker at the next level; he is a fine defender, solid size and rebounds well. He is fairly strong but can struggle to make use of that. On some days, he has it going offensively – but when he doesn't then he struggles to find ways to get into the game on that end. His shot is unreliable, his finishing around the rim comes and goes, he is not the quickest and cannot take defenders off the dribble reliably.

He needs to develop some areas he can resort back to when his flow is disrupted, so as to keep being useful: catch-and-shoot 3's, midrange pull-ups, taking bigs off the dribble or finishing over smaller guards. He can do that, I think, but it's not a given that he really gets there. He's worth a 1st at this point, I'd say, but for more I'd have to see more consistency on offense as you rightly point out.

Like Donte Divinceno?

[clyde21]

DD is a decent comp in terms of archetype at the next level, DD is a little more athletic tho probably

[Marcus]

DD is a decent comp in terms of archetype at the next level, DD is a little more athletic tho probably

You think Q is playing well enough to take that leap or should he ride out the rest of his time there?

[clyde21]

DD is a decent comp in terms of archetype at the next level, DD is a little more athletic tho probably

You think Q is playing well enough to take that leap or should he ride out the rest of his time there?

was thinking about this yesterday, not really sure yet, usually i'd tell someone to leave ASAP but it's a pretty deep class at PG and guard in general, I think going back might be beneficial but we'll see

[Marcus]

DD is a decent comp in terms of archetype at the next level, DD is a little more athletic tho probably

You think Q is playing well enough to take that leap or should he ride out the rest of his time there?

was thinking about this yesterday, not really sure yet, usually i'd tell someone to leave ASAP but it's a pretty deep class at PG and guard in general, I think going back might be beneficial but we'll see

seeing what's on the horizon a three to four year stint might not be bad for him if he doesn't get a guarantee this year. Iron out all the kinks and come in as the heady experienced big PG. Maybe play himself into a mid-late 1st.

[clyde21]

Grimes 23 points...at the half

i hate this guy.

[King Ken]

I would love if he stayed one more year and developed his shooting like Amani Brooks did under Sampson. If Q had an elite jumper, I could see him being more like a Brandon Roy type plus a 3-4 year guy with polish. That would do wonders for Grimes.

[clyde21]

i think his shooting is fine, it comes and goes but a lot of it is mental IMO, i want to see him develop more of that dog mentality, also improve the handle but I think it's above average already for a combo guy

id lean towards him coming back and developing more/getting more consistent, if he does find that consistency his potential as a combo guard is huge IMO

[King Ken]

i think his shooting is fine, it comes and goes but a lot of it is mental IMO, i want to see him develop more of that dog mentality, also improve the handle but I think it's above average already for a combo guy

id lean towards him coming back and developing more/getting more consistent, if he does find that consistency his potential as a combo guard is huge IMO

Consistency usually comes when your skills for that level is insanely good. He's not that consistent, because he's not that good.

[The-Power]

Like Donte Divinceno?

Donte is more aggressive and confident on offense, peskier on defense and more athletic but not as big and bulky. I like Donte more as a prospect but I was also relatively high on him and think he has proven he belongs in the NBA. Still, Grimes has definitely a path to being worth a first-round pick and the Donte comparison is not completely off in that the general archetype is indeed similar.

[No-Man]

I really don't see how Grimes is a NBA player unless his shooting is awesome, doesn't bring enough to the table in other aspects

He may be solid in Europe

[clyde21]

I really don't see how Grimes is a NBA player unless his shooting is awesome, doesn't bring enough to the table in other aspects

He may be solid in Europe

common Fischella L

[SeattleJazzFan]

i loved grimes coming out of HS. looked like the best guard/wing in the class and a future top 5 pick in my eyes. hated him so much at kansas and was lukewarm on him coming out of Houston - pretty much agreed with nba people and saw him as a late first early second guy. it will be interesting to see if he can ever be anything more than just a shooter/scorer, but if that's all he ever does, for being drafted late first, he's been a great pick.

[Big J]

What's the point of bumping a 4 year old thread?

[3toheadmelo]

i started a thread on him back in 2018 first
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1692278&p=63590738&hilit=quentin+grimes#p63590738