KU freshman guard Quentin Grimes on uptick entering Tuesday’s game at Oklahoma
Kansas opened the 2018-19 Big 12 basketball season against Oklahoma on Jan. 2 — way back when Quentin Grimes appeared to be headed toward a wildly successful freshman campaign.
The 6-foot-5 Grimes — who had 21 points against Michigan State, 10 points and 10 assists versus Vermont, 14 points against Wofford and 16 points versus Eastern Michigan to highlight his first collegiate nonconference season — scored 14 points in the Jayhawks’ 70-63 victory over the Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse.
He followed that by scoring 19 points in a 77-60 loss to Iowa State on Jan. 5 in Ames, Iowa.
After that, however, the McDonald’s All-American from The Woodlands, Texas, hit hard times, scoring in single digits in his next 12 Big 12 games. He’s turned things around of late, having scored in double figures the past two games entering Tuesday’s long-awaited rematch at Oklahoma (18-11, 6-10). Tipoff is 8 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center with a live telecast on ESPN2.
“Roller coaster ride,” Grimes said, summarizing his freshman season for the Jayhawks (22-7, 11-5). “It’s been tough at times. My parents and my AAU coach and a couple players who stay close to me told me, ‘Don’t worry about it. All freshmen go through it. You’ve got to stay in the gym, keep working. You’ll be fine.’
“My mom and dad have been a great supporting cast, keeping me grounded. They told me, ‘It (some success, some failure) will make you a better man.’ My parents are the best I could ask for. They are doing a great job keeping me humble, staying in the gym and working.”
Grimes — he scored 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting (4 of 7 from three) in Saturday’s 72-67 victory at Oklahoma State — has averaged 8.0 points and 2.4 rebounds while logging 26.7 minutes a game in 29 games. He’s averaged 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 27.8 minutes per contest in 16 Big 12 games.
He said KU assistant coach Jerrance Howard has counseled him the most this season.
“He calls me, makes sure I’m good, makes sure I’m coming into practice with a great mindset,” Grimes said. “They (coaches) all do a great job making sure I’m good. I have great teammates. Ochai (Agbaji), Marcus (Garrett) … we chill, talk about things besides basketball. I feel our group is special. Everybody on the team gets along. Everybody hangs out with everybody. We go out together, have fun together. I think it’s a pretty special group here.”
Grimes on Saturday helped KU defeat Oklahoma State and stay alive in the Big 12 race. He drilled a three-pointer to erase a 67-64 deficit with 2:41 to play. Next, he hit one of two free throws at 1:38 that put KU up 68-67 — a lead the Jayhawks would not relinquish thanks in part to Grimes, who guarded Thomas Dsiagwa on a key miss from beyond the arc with 14 seconds to play.
“He’s played with so much more energy and activity,” KU coach Bill Self said of Grimes’ performance in recent games. “You worry about the right things and all of a sudden you play better offensively.”
Self addressed Grimes’ season as a whole after Grimes scored 12 points in a 64-49 victory against Kansas State on Feb. 25.
“I see so much in him, but I also see that when things haven’t gone as well it has affected a little bit of his psyche from an energy standpoint,” Self said. “Sometimes it’s like he is trying hard but is trying hard at a job rather than trying hard at something you are really passionate about.
“I thought last night he as much as anybody played like he loved being out there and loved the game, which I know he does and everybody knows he does. Sometimes when things haven’t gone well it’s a little bit harder to express that. When you have that type of mindset I think you play freer and I also think you play with more energy.”
Self added: “It hasn’t been easy for him and everybody knows that, but it’s not from work ethic or preparation. If people knew how much time these kids spend on their own at 11 o’clock at night or 12 o’clock at night or 7 o’clock in the morning shooting on their own and doing all these things, they’d know there is such a strong commitment and certainly he is one of those guys.”
Grimes said he feels his season is on a serious uptick.
“We’ve been clicking as a team in practice, especially on the defensive end,” Grimes said. “I’m worrying what I can control on the defensive end. Everybody has a lot of faith in me on the offensive end. Just the way I’ve been practicing, getting shots in after practice, I’m playing with a lot of confidence now.”
Junior forward Mitch Lightfoot has noticed a strong work ethic in Grimes.
“He played his butt off,” Lightfoot said after Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State. “The kid has been putting in the work. That’s the Quentin we all know. Everybody needs to know what he can do. We all believe in him.”
The Jayhawks on Tuesday will be playing an NCAA bubble team that has won three of four games. KU has entered the final week of the regular season a game behind Texas Tech and Kansas State and a game ahead of Baylor in the league standings with two games to play. K-State plays at TCU, while Tech plays host to Texas on Monday night.
KU will conclude the regular season against Baylor on Saturday. Tipoff is 1 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
“All we can do is what we can and control what we can. All we can control is preparation for OU and getting ready to play a good Sooner team, that’s also playing for a lot as well,” Self said. “It’ll be interesting down there, but at least going into the last week (of conference play), we’re still in the game. I think we’re starting to play better, even if it doesn’t always look that way. I think the ball is getting where it’s going, I think we’re understanding how we’re going to score and today (Saturday), even though they (Cowboys) still scored several baskets in late-clock situations, I thought we really defended down the stretch.”
