🏀 KuBuckets Archive

This should be an outmanned opponent, in theory, although I do not expect this team to blow out anybody unless they are unconscious from deep.

So, my couch potato coaching plan would be to emphasize Quentin Grimes from start to finish.

Put him in position to succeed, whatever that may look like from the scouting report.

If it’s scoring in transition, great. Posting up, great. Passing and feeding Dedric...you get the drill.

This is THE game to do whatever it takes to clear his noggin and set him on the path.

Largely, I agree with you. We know what we are going to get from Dedric, Dok and Vick, as well as Dotson to an extent. Quentin takes this team to another level, like final weekend national champion level. Jay echoed our thoughts on Saturday - QG is WAY in his own head right now. You can just see it on his face. Bill would not be starting him if he didn't truly believe Quentin has it in him to do better. I mean, he coached him over the summer and knows how he can play. Its important to give things time and not give up on him, as he is the final piece, IMO, for a championship run.

Bingo. Force feed him the ball. Get him to shoot. Tell him that he has no consequences on Offense tonight. There is no such thing as a bad shot. Find a place on the floor you feel comfortable getting the ball from and attacking.

He just has to learn when and where he can attack. You can only learn that when you're playing without fear instead of worried you might make a mistake. And it's hard to practice that because the guys you're going against see you every day and know the plays.

The one thing i'd caution against...the 3 pt. shot.
I'd say he needs to find his "safe spot" somewhere else before relying on the outside shot.
Get to the lane somehow. Play defense. Pass the ball. Something. Contribute. Anything!
But if you start chucking up 3s and they don't fall, BLAM there goes your head again...
He's a big kid with a big body. take it to the hole!

And if we don't see the featuring of Q tonight, then we know the ship has probably sailed, and they've decided to move Marcus into his spot when Doke gets back. I've often wondered if KU Sports doesn't write articles suggested by the coaching staff- thot it seemed ironic they would write a huge piece on Marcus, and then Q gets 14 minutes against Nova. Hopefully, I'm wrong and they'll get Q 15 shots tonight, and he'll make over half of them.

@KUSTEVE

Grimes had 3 fouls in 7 minutes halfway through the first half; this more than anything else doomed his playing time. If you recall, he he went in when KU needed a defender and FT shooter at the end of the game.

KU may need to let Q handle the ball some even when he and Dotson are on the floor together. Q is struggling to find a rhythm. When you play off the ball on the wing, it can be hard to get back into rhythm within the flow of the offense and the flow of the game. It's why you can see talented wing scorers occasionally just disappear. But Q can handle the ball well enough to initiate the offense some, which could help jumpstart him by getting the ball in his hands where he can see the floor from a different angle and have a chance to be involved in the offense and a chance to be aggressive from the top of the key.

I'd also like to see some Q/Dedric PnR action. With both of them being as skilled as they are, this seems like something that could get Q going while keeping Dedric involved.

We assume South Dakota is outmanned. It's been hard for this team to blow out any opponent though.

@JayHawkFanToo Here's some hope:

http://www.hdnews.net/news/20181214/grimes-funk-not-unlike-this-legends-early-career-struggles?template=ampart ↗ ↗

Well trying to put some positive spin on our boys this year.

Guys here is something to take in - - ok , yes you know we have had close games every games this year - - -BUT when you look at it this way , you have to feel better. I like you would rather have a few comfortable one's along the way -anyways.

If you look and realize Even with our 5 * SG Quentin just looking totally lost - -not really getting anything at this point - - -when your OTHER point Guard is really not giving a lot when he comes in ( Charlie Moore ) - -- and even though LaGerald has had a decent season but still has times where he is no where to be found- - not a much but you know what I'm getting at. - - Where you Have your top 5 man now hurt and sitting on the sidelines - -and yet - -were still undeafted. - -still have found ways to win.

The one thing we have had and it is a HUGE one and that's Dedric - - - -pretty solid. - The funny thing is , well for me anyways , you watch him and it's like - -he is not extra quick -- seems like he can't jump with a hoot - - his outside shot really hasn't been thee that well yet I mean OUTSIDE jumpers -- and with all this - -every game you look up and the guy either has or rally close to a double - -Double , if makes me wonder how does our boy do it? - -Not flashy by any means just get's it done.

So with that said guys - things are just fine , when we get this all figured out - - get all the pieces together I think we are going to be fine - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@justanotherfan

Ideally, when Dotson takes a rest, Grimes could run the point. He is plenty capable since he did it for the USA team coached by Self and not only he did great he was the entire Tournament's MVP.

At this time it would be hard to take minutes away from Dotson; the man is so good and so fast and he is a constant threat to take it all the way so he keeps defenses honest.

While his offense has been way off recently, obviously Coach Self trusts Grimes defense and he had him on the court at the end of the Villanova game. Last evening, while not a great performance, Grimes was a lot better than he has been recently and one of this days things will click for him and we will see a different player.

I remember when Perry was having problems and could not quite find the hoop even when he was really close until one game, at the Big 12 Conference Tournament, when everything came together and he never looked back and he was an outstanding player from then on. I am hoping that Grimes will be a similar case; the man has so much potential but right now he has a mental block that hopefully lifts in the near future.

@JayHawkFanToo

One thing I noticed with Grimes is that the early season offensive fouls seem to have him spooked about driving the lane. There were several times where he didn't even look to turn the corner on the weave last night.

One thing I did like was that a couple of times Grimes got one of SD's smaller guards on him and immediately posted up and called for the ball. Unfortunately, both times that I noticed it, KU failed to get him the ball in the favorable matchup. That's an area where he could find some success since he is a good passer and a matchup problem in that area of the floor.

Grimes understands his skillset, but he hasn't figured out how to use that skillset within KU's offense. Hopefully in film review the coaching staff sees what I saw and works to get him the ball in those types of sets.

Well, after watching the game...
I’d say my couch potato game plan was in effect, but not effective!

They tried to showcase Grimes and put him in position to succeed, but he just isn’t ready.

That seems obvious to me now.

The really disappointing part of his game to me: transition.

That was supposed to be his strength coming into the season. Pardon my French, but he looked like a giant chicken shit in transition. Scared or unskilled enough to even get near the basket to finish or dish.

So, back in the oven he goes. Hopefully he’ll be up to temperature by March.

@JayHawkFanToo excellent post. Kind of sad to see so many fans throwing in the towel on Quentin.

Patience with Grimes. The silly charge near the end last night was a perfect microcosm of his season. Just some major discombobulation going on.

Self is doing what we have always asked for, which is permitting the higher ceiling guy to play through difficulties. No complaints here at all.

That said, Diallo never looked near as bad as Grimes at times. I never thought Diallo looked bad anyway. Nevermind. Blood pressure rising a bit.

@HawkChamp

If you follow the game threads, some posters were ready to give up on Dedrick when he was having not even a bad but an average first half. Grimes will be fine in time; anyone that says he does not have the talent to start at KU has obviously not see him play in HS or under Coach Self for the USA team.

Grimes is a man lost by playing too many roles in his career. He played post in HS at times I believe. He’s played PG. His best quality of trying to be a team player and do anything asked of him also has a flip side of lacking aggression. Even his HS coach said it would be an issue.

Confidence in sports is something learned through repetition. It doesn’t magically happen. It comes quicker for some than others. It definitely comes later for Bill Self players because he is a tear them down before building them up type of coach.

I don’t know if Grimes becomes the player we want him to be this season. But if he doesn’t, a Sophomore Grimes should scare the rest of the country. I definitely haven’t given up on the kid, and I know he’ll be apart of something great for KU either this season or the next few. He’s got the talent and the “want to” in order to be a Jersey in the rafters type of player at some point.

Give him time and patience.

My guess is the next time Grimes sees an open lane and finishes with a fantastic flush, the world will open up for him. I just thought it would be last night! :)

@Kcmatt7 Some similarities, again, to Selden it would seem. I may be wrong, but I think most KU fans believe Selden never got to point we thought he might get to with his game when he arrived. Grimes is definitely a better ball handler than Selden.

The biggest issue right now is that Grimes needs to be able to just play through his mistakes. He's too worried about messing up and not nearly loose enough to just make plays. He has incredible talent, and can do just about everything, but that's also a bit of a drawback because he doesn't necessarily have one thing he can do to get himself going. But he has to just play.

@justanotherfan I appreciate both your experience and your knowledge, but how are you so sure it is a problem of trying to avoid mistakes? It seems equally likely to me that he is perhaps not trying hard enough to avoid mistakes. He has been as likely to drive with nowhere to go as he has been to be too tentative, and some of his shots--feet not set, not squared to the basket--do not show signs of being cautious. Likewise, a few passes to places where his teammates are not.

@mayjay Regarding Self, by appearances, he is very calm with Grimes vs. what we saw with certain players say 3-4+ years ago. I could understand, then, why Anrio Adams (or whomever) might be a bit gun-shy. But not with Grimes. I don't think Self has much to do with this (understanding we don't know what goes on in practice). By appearances, Self is reactively patiently. (I know you didn't mention Self, but it's a good place to start).

But it does appear to me that he's hesitant -- and then not. Hesitation in athletes, many times, comes from being unsure. I personally think that's it. We don't know the combination of factors causing it, but I also think he has the appearance of a guy trying to avoid mistakes. But that's not saying you're incorrect. I think you're right as well. I think his fear of mistakes creates hesitancy, and thus we see some of the things we discuss. Then, he overreacts, listens to what everyone is telling him -- he says to himself, "I'm just going to play." Then he makes another stupid mistake because his throttle is too far open -- like the silly charge at the end of the game.

So I think it's chicken or the egg. Perhaps the "I'm just going to play" creates an overly-loose style first, and then when it blows up, he retracts. That may be more plausible in the cause/effect now than earlier. Because now he's probably going into games saying, "Relax, just play the game." And then two turnovers and offensive foul later, he reverts to survival mode (trying to stay on the court).

That may be some overdone psychoanalysis, but I think it's a reasonable explanation.

@HighEliteMajor

When i started reading your post the first thing that came to mind was the chicken and the egg...and sure enough you had that in the last paragraph. :thumbsup_tone2:

Good points. Another thing that Selden had was that the team was not nearly as deep so he had sure playing time. The team now is deep and Coach Self has the luxury of sitting Grimes down, if needed, and playing someone else instead. I will guess that it might be on the back of his mind and maybe creating the uncertainty. Two solid outings and he will be the player we hope he is.

@JayHawkFanToo In Selden's freshman year, several of us ( including me ), were calling for Wayne to be benched. Grime's upside could be way higher than Waynes if we could somehow keep Grimes for longer than a year. And Wayne was really good once he got it figured out. Grimes could be a potential All American, so his loss this year could be our gain next year.

I would say Grimes would have the single greatest turn around mid season in the history of athletics to leave via NBA. But who knows Selby left to get picked late in the second round.

mayjay said:

@justanotherfan I appreciate both your experience and your knowledge, but how are you so sure it is a problem of trying to avoid mistakes? It seems equally likely to me that he is perhaps not trying hard enough to avoid mistakes. He has been as likely to drive with nowhere to go as he has been to be too tentative, and some of his shots--feet not set, not squared to the basket--do not show signs of being cautious. Likewise, a few passes to places where his teammates are not.

I've spent most of the last two games watching Grimes exclusively when he has been on the floor. He's incredibly indecisive with everything. He seems to decide to do one thing, then change his mind halfway into the move.

He will drive to nowhere rather than looking to attack his man off the dribble. If he confronts even the slightest defensive resistance, he will either dribble back out or pick up his dribble.

He will sometimes shoot as an afterthought. There have been moments where he has been looking to pass and then shot as sort of a last resort.

He needs to simplify the game for himself right now by doing two things.

1. Make it his goal to play harder than everyone else on defense. Completely lock in on that end. If that produces some transition opportunities, all the better.

2. Hit the offensive glass. Grimes hasn't had more than 4 rebounds in any game this season. With his athleticism, that should not be the case. He needs to look to crash the offensive boards more.

Those are both "effort" things rather than skill things. Sometimes, when the skill stuff isn't happening, you can get thrown off, but effort doesn't get into slumps.