Shining moments
Grimes’ breakout season, playmaking energize Cougars
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Pick a moment, any moment.
Watch Quentin Grimes drop 33 points and eight 3-pointers, both career highs, against Western Kentucky.
Watch Grimes go on a tear, like he’s often been known to do this season for the University of Houston, and reel off 16 consecutive points against South Florida. You look up, and it’s just the first half.
Watch Grimes take off for a fastbreak dunk or zip a pass through the lane for Fabian White Jr., who delivers an emphatic dunk.
“He can make tough shots and put the team on his back when needs to,” senior guard DeJon Jarreau said. “He doesn’t shy away from the big moment.
“For a team to go far, I feel like you need a player like that on your team. I feel like we have one.”
In what was one last preview before the NCAA Tournament, in a
sparsely filled Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Grimes exchanged big shot after big shot with Memphis guard Boogie Ellis in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament.
Ellis made a 3-pointer for a 51-50 lead late in the second half. Grimes hit a 3pointer to grab the lead back. A minute later, Ellis hit another 3 to tie game. Grimes again answered.
Finally, with two minutes left, Grimes delivered his fifth and final 3-pointer, and Justin Gorham came up with big rebounds and even bigger free throws as the Cougars won 76-74 to advance to the championship game.
“He owned the moment,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said afterward. “He loved it. He wanted it. He sought it. He craved it.”
Close games? Pressurepacked moments? Everything on the line?
“Yeah, those are the games you live for,” said Grimes, a 6-5 junior guard.
If UH makes a Final Four run, Grimes will be a big reason. The Cougars (24-3), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region, open the NCAA Tournament with 15th-seeded Cleveland State (19-7) on Friday at Assembly Hall on the Indiana University campus.
“He’s really just proving everybody wrong,” Jarreau said. “If he can just keep his play up, alongside the rest of our guys, I feel like we’ll have a great March.”
Just in the past couple weeks, Grimes has accepted more packages than an Amazon delivery truck, the reward for being one of the top guards in America. If there were doubters — and there were some when he left Kansas after his freshman season — Grimes has provided validation with one of the best individual seasons by a Cougars player in decades.
He was named co-player of the year and tournament most outstanding player in the AAC, becoming just the fourth Cougars player to sweep both conference honors. It’s a list that includes UH greats Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Young and Rob Williams.
He’s been an All-America selection by four organizations, including third team by the prestigious Associated Press, a first since Olajuwon was a consensus selection in 1984.
He’s a finalist for the Jerry West Award, presented to college basketball’s top shooting guard.
His scoring production includes 21 games in double figures, including 11 with 20 points or more.
“His confidence level is sky-high right now,” Sampson said.
Entering the Tournament, Grimes is averaging 17 points and six rebounds for a UH squad that is tied with Alabama and Loyola Chicago for the second-most wins (24) behind No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga (26).
In the last six games, Grimes is averaging 20.2 points and shooting nearly 50 percent from 3-point range.
“When he gets hot, it’s really amazing to watch,” Jarreau said. “I just want him to keep shooting because it’s really a show.”
Blue Man Group is a show. Cirque de Soleil is a show. Grimes is a one-man band.
“And I just let him rock,” Sampson said.
That, however, hasn’t always been the case. Grimes left College Park High School in The Woodlands with what he called “wild expectations,” a five-star prospect who certainly would be one-and-done and the next lottery pick from Kansas. He averaged 8.4 points and shot 38.4 percent during the 2018-19 season as the Jayhawks lost to Auburn in the second round.
“I think people kind of expected me to have this impact right away at Kansas,” Grimes said earlier this season. “But I kind of just feel like it’s about staying true to the game, trusting the process, trusting the plan the coaches have for you.”
After his freshman year, Grimes went through the pre-draft process, which graded him as a projected mid-second round pick. He withdrew his name and decided to return to school. By then, though, Kansas coach Bill Self had filled his scholarship spot. He entered the transfer portal and transferred to UH. With the support of Self, Grimes was cleared to play immediately.
In his first season, Grimes helped the Cougars win the AAC regular-season title before the coronavirus pandemic shut down postseason tournaments. He later admitted he felt “like a freshman” all over again as he adjusted to being at UH.
Sampson, who is leading the Cougars to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, was tough on Grimes. It wasn’t all about scoring. If he wanted to truly be a dominant player, Sampson said, he had to learn to rebound and defend.
“He had to get out of his own way,” Sampson said.
Added Grimes: “He was on me from day one. I feel like I needed that tough coaching. I feel it made me a tougher person on and off the court.”
If Jarreau is the “most indispensable” player on the roster and rebound machine Justin Gorham is the “identity guy” for his toughness,
according to Sampson, then Grimes is Mariano Rivera — the closer.
Grimes credits his transformation to working with assistant coach Quannas White, the point guard on Sampson’s Final Four team at Oklahoma in 2002. The two work on shots before practice. After practice. On days off. They share “life talks and life lessons,” Grimes said.
“Coach Q is with me every day,” Grimes said. “He is a big reason why I’m having this much success. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Here is the Big Dance and a matchup with Cleveland State — winner of the Horizon League — while resisting the urge to look ahead to a Midwest bracket that includes No. 1 seed Illinois, No. 3 seed West Virginia and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State.
No matter what happens, Grimes has taken his place among the collection of talented guards to play for Sampson, from Hollis Price at Oklahoma and Eric Gordon at Indiana to the recent run at UH that includes Rob Gray Jr., Corey Davis Jr., Galen Robinson Jr. and Armoni Brooks.
Many expect Grimes to leave after this season for the NBA, where some projections have him on the fringe of the first round.
“I love giving good players freedom,” Sampson said. “I always have. I’ve had a lot of really good players. And the thing I tell my best players is I’m going to hold you accountable for these things, but the flip side is I am not going to over-coach you.”
Last Sunday afternoon, Grimes sat on the UH bench — his day finished with 21 points in 22 minutes — as the Cougars led Cincinnati by 37 in the AAC championship game. He leapt to his feet and waved a towel as walkon Ryan Elvin made a shot.
Grimes believes the Cougars have a chance to do something special in the NCAA Tournament. He undoubtedly will have a say.
“We’ve got a great opportunity ahead of us,” Grimes said. “A chance to really make the Final Four.”