Grimes brings gold medal, MVP award to KU; Italian League team introduces Larry Brown

Kansas freshman guard Quentin Grimes, a member of USA Basketball's gold-medal winning under-18 men’s national team who was named MVP of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship on Saturday, arrived in Lawrence for summer school on Sunday night.

Grimes, a 6-foot-5 combo guard from The Woodlands, Texas — he scored 17 points with seven rebounds and six assists in Team USA's 113-74 title rout of host Canada — brought his gold medal and MVP hardware with him to town.

“It is a feeling I can’t describe. It is my first time getting an actual gold medal, playing in a FIBA tournament, playing with a great bunch of guys and going out there and getting the job done,” Grimes, who averaged 14.7 points and 3.8 assists in six games, said after the championship game in St. Catharines, Ontario.

For the tournament, Grimes cashed 38 of 77 shots (49.4 percent). He made 6 of 25 threes (24 percent) and 6 of 12 free throws (50 percent) with 23 assists against seven turnovers. He also had 10 steals for the (6-0) United States.

“A lot,” Grimes said, asked how much he knowledge he gained the past few weeks from KU Coach Bill Self, head coach of the U.S. team, plus assistants Danny Manning (Wake Forest) and Anthony Grant (Dayton).

“These past two weeks, Coach Self pushed me to limits that I didn’t even know I could push myself to. A lot of parts of my game – I didn’t know I could lock down defensively like I can. So, with Coach Self, it’s going to be great to go out there and play for Kansas, and it’s been great to play for my future head coach," Grimes added.

Self was impressed with the play of Grimes during the tourney.

“He’s a good player. I’ll go on record and say he played terrific,” Self said. “But, I thought Cole (Anthony, 14.3 ppg), I thought Coby (White), I thought Matt Hurt, I thought Jeremiah (Robinson-Earl of Bishop Miege who averaged 10.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg) all played terrific, too. To me the individual things don’t mean as much. I’m happy for him (Grimes), or anybody that would have won it (MVP). But I was probably more proud and liked watching them play about how they tried to make each other better, and I think that’s hard to do with a kind of all-star cast.”

Draftexpress.com’s Jonathan Givony said Grimes was a deserving choice for MVP.

“Quentin Grimes has been tremendous on both ends like he has all tournament long. Love his tools, demeanor, IQ and versatility,” Givony wrote on Twitter during the title game.

Self’s U.S. team blazed to a 6-0 record and scored over 100 points in every game.

“I will certainly tell them that I hope they enjoyed the experience and hopefully it will be a lifelong memory for them. But, when they go to college, or whatever, just because you won a gold in the U18s, doesn’t mean that those guys are going to lay down and say, ‘OK, spot’s yours,’’’ Self said of lineup spots. “You've got to go compete every day, and hopefully that will be something they will take with them."

Canada had defeated Team USA in the semifinals of last year’s under-19 World Cup in Egypt.

“To me, Canada, obviously, they didn’t have R.J. (Barrett), but they could have been pretty confident knowing what happened last year and playing at home this year. But, our guys did a great job of jumping on them, and staying on them and not letting up, and it was fun to watch,” Self said.

Larry Brown signs at news conference

Former Kansas basketball coach Larry Brown signed a contract Sunday to coach Fiat Torino of the Italian League, the team announced on its website. Terms were not disclosed.

Brown, 77, signed at a news conference that included the president and vice president of the team as well as Massimo Rizzo, the agent that worked on the deal for Brown, as well as one of Brown’s assistant coaches, Dante Calabria. Calabria, who played pro ball in Italy, played basketball at Brown’s alma mater, North Carolina.

“Today’s playing style of European basketball is much closer to my way of thinking compared to American basketball,” Brown told eurohoops.net at a news conference Sunday in Italy. “Here there are many people who will help me. I’m nervous but excited. To play the right way you need great players and great minds. Every day, before training or playing, I write ‘Play smart, play right, have fun’ on the chalkboard. It’s a phrase I got from Dean Smith.”

Brown added: “Italian basketball today is not what it was years ago, but I hope it can improve more and more. I hope to have a good influence on young players and coaches. It is my greatest hope. I love European basketball. There is a great level of coaches and players, nice team play. Milan has a great roster. Our goal is to create a team with many good Italian players.”

Calabria told pianetabasket.com that he is “excited to work in Turin with my mentor. It will be his first season with a club outside the United States and so I will try to help him in the field but also elsewhere."

Asked to describe Brown, the 44-year-old Calabria said: “He is extremely polite. He is a splendid person. He is 77 years old but he has never been so fit. When we finish a walk I'm more tired than him. He travels at a very high pace. And he’s brilliant, intelligent. "

He said he met Brown “in 1993, maybe 1994. I was in North Carolina and he, who is a symbol of that university, was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. There is a strong link between us, but it is the first time I will work on his staff. When he told me that he would like to try in Europe, I started moving. After some contact with other companies, we found Turin. It is wonderful news for all Italian basketball.”

Elijah Johnson tour to begin Monday at SM South

Former KU guard Elijah Johnson will hold his first “Too Strong Tour” two-hour camp session for adults and youths from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Monday at Shawnee Mission South. Johnson said there will be 5-on-5 basketball, as well as a free throw contest, a three-point contest, dance contest and other activities that will include some former KU players. For details go to Johnson’s Facebook page. Fans can pay an admission fee at the door before the event.

The tour will also visit Parsons High, Arkansas City High, Maize High, Concordia High and Hutchinson Middle School, all in Kansas.

This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Grimes brings gold medal, MVP award to KU; Italian League team introduces Larry Brown."