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clyde21 wrote: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.

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.

clyde21 wrote: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 wrote:

clyde21 wrote: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.

The-Power wrote:

clyde21 wrote: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 wrote:DD is a decent comp in terms of archetype at the next level, DD is a little more athletic tho probably

Marcus wrote:

clyde21 wrote: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 wrote:

Marcus wrote:

clyde21 wrote: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

clyde21 wrote: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

Roddy B for 3 wrote:Like Donte Divinceno?

No-Man wrote: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