Passion to excel leads to elite status
Quentin Grimes, a 6-5, 210-pound guard, averaged 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game as a senior, dazzling area basketball fans with a 50-point outing and two tripledoubles en route to the McDonald’s All-American Game, where he scored 14 points for the West in its 131-128 win Wednesday in Atlanta, Ga.
The Kansas signee is proud of those accomplishments, to be sure, but he’s most proud of his team’s highlights, including a district title, consecutive playoff trips and a long-awaited win over rival The Woodlands, making him an easy choice for All-Greater Houston Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“Obviously, he has great talent, but his work ethic and passion to be great is what really left a lasting mark on me, and a lasting mark on the young kids in our program, and that will be one of his biggest legacies,” College Park coach Clifton McNeely said. “The kids will look up and know he was a McDonald’s All-American, but it’s what it took to get there that’s the biggest thing.”
Q: What do you love about the game?
A: “It’ really just competing out there on the floor, and knowing that somebody’s out there trying to stop you defensively but you know that you can beat them, and then on the defensive end, shutting people down, knowing that they can’t get a bucket on you, and they can’t stop you … and then getting better every day, improving my game, working on the weaknesses and making them strengths.”
Q: Players achieve greatness through a lot of factors, including exposure, athleticism, passion, dedication. What’s helped you become the player you are today?
A: “It’s a little bit of everything. But you’ve really got to be dedicated to the game, you really have to love it, and that has to really be what you want to do in the end. So it’s staying in the gym, all the time, even when you don’t want to get in the gym.”
Q: What do you consider your greatest strength on the court right now?
A: “I would say my IQ, reading the game, and trying to get better at that, and being a better overall point guard down the court, reading the defenses, knowing when to attack, and if I have two or three people on me, there are going to be two people open on my team, and then finding the open man and making the right decisions.”
Q: You experienced plenty of highs and lows during your fouryear career at College Park. Are you happy overall with how it played out?
A: “Overall, I feel like I had a pretty good four years at College Park. Every year, we got better at something. My first two years we didn’t make the playoffs, so my junior and senior years, I’m definitely proud of making the playoffs. And we hadn’t won a district title since I was at College Park, and my senior year we won that.”
Q: How big was it for you to finally get that win over The Woodlands in your last district game?
A: “It was big-time, because we hadn’t won against them since my eighth-grade year, and we finally beat them in my last game against them, so it was great to get that win.”
Q: What accomplishments are you most proud of ?
A: “Team-wise, definitely winning that district championship. That was a really big goal for us. Individually, probably making the McDonald’s game, because it’s such a prestigious game, and a prestigious award .”
Q: How did you decide on Kansas out of at least a dozen offers?
A: “It came down to Kansas and Texas in the end, and I knew with both of them I would have the impact of coming in right away, and I would have a lot of leadership responsibility as a freshman, and I felt like at Kansas I would have a better supporting cast around me that would be able to push me every single day in practice.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: “In five years, hopefully I’ll be in the NBA, trying to be one of the best players out there and still trying to get better every single day.”