Clutch Grimes leads Cougars as NCAA tourney push begins
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 5150 lead late in the second half. Grimes hit a 3-pointer 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.”
If UH makes a Final Four run, Grimes will be a big reason why.
The Cougars (24-3), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, open the NCAA Tournament with 15thseeded Cleveland State (19-7) on Friday at Assembly Hall on the Indiana University campus.
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).
“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.”
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 oneand-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.
After his freshman year, Grimes went through the predraft 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.
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.
Here is the Big Dance, a matchup with Cleveland State — winner of the Horizon League — while resisting the urge to look ahead to a Midwest Region bracket that includes No. 1 seed Illinois, No. 3 seed West Virginia and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State.
Many expect Grimes to leave school after this season for the NBA, where some projections have him just on the fringe of the first round.
Graham 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.”