Grimes produces after slow AAC start
Kelvin Sampson looked at the stat sheet after a Feb. 6 win over Tulane. The white sheet of paper was incomplete, a minor technical glitch, and the University of Houston coach took advantage of the moment to point out Quentin Grimes was short-changed an offensive rebound.
“As much as I get on him about offensive rebounds, you’re not going to give him credit for it?” Sampson told a nearby staffer.
Seated next to Sampson was guard Nate Hinton, UH’s leading rebounder, who had 12 in the game.
“Take one (rebound) from Nate,” Sampson joked. “He can afford it. Nate has a pocketful of change. Quentin needs some nickels and quarters in his pocket.”
Nothing has come easy for Grimes this season.
The 6-5 sophomore guard arrived on the UH campus last summer with impressive credentials. One of the top prospects in the nation. A McDonald’s All-American. A starter as a true freshman for perennial national title contender Kansas.
Grimes has a considerably different view of himself.
“I’m really a freshman, kind of,” said Grimes, who started the first 16 games. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming in and trying to learn things.”
The learning process has taken Grimes from starter to reserve to back in the starting lineup the last two games. He had a game-high 14 points in Sunday’s 76-43 blowout of Wichita State, the third time in the last four games he has posted a double-digit point total.
“Right now, everything’s starting to click,” Grimes said as the No. 20 Cougars prepared to play South Florida on Wednesday night in Tampa.
That wasn’t the case toward the end of non-conference play, which ultimately led to a slow start to begin American Athletic Conference play and a change in roles off the bench.
Grimes played through a few injuries in December, posting 18 and 26 points in consecutive wins over Portland and Georgia Tech in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. But his struggles were evident at the start of AAC play as Grimes averaged seven points and shot 30.6 percent in the first seven games.
Since then, Grimes has averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds and is shooting 56.3 percent to re-establish a much-needed extra scorer as the Cougars prepare for the final stretch of the regular season and then the postseason.
Sampson can see a change. “His body language, his confidence, is coming up,” Sampson said. “He’s walking around like he got invited to the party instead of crashing it through the back door. Sometimes your body language and the way you think of yourself has a lot to do with how you play.”
Sampson said Grimes “had some things to overcome,” specifically
adopting to the team’s culture.
“You can’t be afraid,” Sampson said. “If somebody wants to punch you, you can’t look at them and ask why’d you punch me. You’ve got to punch them back. That’s kind of the mantra of our program, but that wasn’t necessarily him, and I think he’s slowly but surely buying in and understanding what the culture here is about.”
Rebounding has been stressed the last five games. Grimes also has been asked to be more aggressive and take on a more vocal leadership role.
“Just doing whatever Coach asks me on the court,” Grimes said. “He’s really been on me about rebounding. I feel like going out there and doing everything he wants and let everything else come to me, whether it be points or assists. If you go out there with the right mindset, play hard on defense and rebound, everything else will fall into place.”
And those missing stats will start showing up.