Grimes transferring...

What a head scratcher!

www2.kusports.com/news/2019/may/29/quent...aft-pool-planning-t/

Chalk this up to one of those mysteries that are probably only known to the individuals directly involved.

The best I can figure, he wants to play PG and be "the guy". With Dotson coming back, that door closed and he'd at best be Robin to Dotson's Batman role.

Meanwhile the NBA was politely telling him to go work on his game some more.

Combine those two and I think the desire to play PG is the excuse he's telling himself. Meanwhile, who knows what ELSE is going on.

The part that makes it most mysterious to me is that it was clear that HCBS really believed in him all season long, so any talk about not getting the support he needed or any kind of bad blood seems off target. If the coach doesn't like you, you don't start every game when the stats don't support it.

Good luck Quinten.

Head scratcher indeed!

If Hampton was headed to Lawrence it made sense, if Self had benched Grimes at the end of the season (like some thought he should) it would make sense. But Self was very supportive and complimentary of him and Quinten had every reason to believe he'd return as a starter on a good Kansas basketball team. Instead, he chooses to set out an entire season.

I love HE's postulation that Kyree Walker is headed to KU. That would make sense and make us all very happy. If not, Agbaji certainly showed signs of being a capable starter. We'll be ok.

Good luck Quinten, as we scratch our heads over your decision.

Not really. Self gave him more undeserved minutes last year than any player in all the years I've been a fan. He was simply not good enough to be assured of anything this year on this team. When you are highly regarded by yourself as Grimes is, facing the reality that you cannot do the things on the court you believe you should be able to, blaming others is the default. Grimes and his 'posse' are convinced that it was and is Self's fault that he is not entering the draft. They blame Self for his weight gain, his lack of elite athleticism, his poor shooting, his inability to score through contact, his lack of rebounding, and his generally sour demeanor. If he was really honest with himself, and was willing to do what would be best for him, he would come back, earn his minutes, get into shape, etc. and prove that his freshman year was a fluke. Now he has to sit out a year and then enter a brand new system and maybe show that he can play PG at an NBA level. I personally don't believe he will succeed because I don't see his NBA athleticism. He might succeed, but my guess is that he ends up overseas, which although not the NBA, should make him a good living for a while. In the end, it was arrogance and self absorption that made this decision inevitable. And, to be honest, I'm not sure that Self wanted him back. It very well have been a mutuall decision.

I blame HCBS when I gain weight, too. It’s all his fault that he won’t use my eligibility and willingness to walk on so I can get a good daily workout!

Head scratcher indeed....you all have some very good insight.

Regardless, I’m over the moon that Silvio has been freed and that Devon is returning......we’ll be fine, we always are. For as much as I was disappointed with the 18-19 season record......there are a lot of teams that would kill for our record.

Rock Chalk.....I’m so happy there is still Board conversation happening. I miss you guys when there’s no chatter.

SenEx - I appreciate your theory on this. Neither of us can get into Grime's head but there certainly is credibility to what you're saying and I do agree that it very well may have been a "mutual decision." Yet, Self always showed his support publically and never wavered in giving Grimes ample playing time. I felt he'd be gone if Hampton was coming but without that, Grime's decision was baffling to me. So, self-deception and blame shifting may well have been at the root of the problem.

What do you, or anyone else think about Agbaji being our starting 2? Is he the likely guy - why or why not?

I blame HCBS when I gain weight, too. It’s all his fault that he won’t use my eligibility and willingness to walk on so I can get a good daily workout!

I love this idea. My "extra layer of insulation" has nothing to do with my fondness of beer or BBQ and everything to do with HCBS. It gets worse during the season because I'm watching hoops on TV (often with the aforementioned consumables) when I could be on the court instead!

As for Agbaji, he certainly opened some eyes last year and eventually kind of plateaued. That said, it always seems that guys make the biggest jump between their freshman and sophomore years because a.) they get a full summer under KU's training program and b.) they mature mentally and are more accustomed to the college game's pace, long season, and other "big steps" up from high school ball.

Assuming Agbaji progresses in a typical manner, I'm very hopeful. Clearly KU is looking to fill a hole in it's 3 point shooting, so I imagine that he's working on his shot. Not sure if Garrett would be capable of transitioning from a bricklayer to an assassin. Lightfoot occasionally gets to shoot a 3 and hits a decent percentage, but that's more of a novelty act. So unless Agbaji becomes "the guy" we might be looking at one of the new guys to fill that role. I don't like to comment on guys who I haven't seen play, so right now I imagine that Ochai is taking a lot of shots trying to improve from the 30% mark he hit last year.

One other topic I haven't heard mention is my man David McCormack! With Silvio's news, and Dok healthy, he's kind of gotten lost in the shuffle, but I'm actually REALLY excited to see how much he improves in the off season. Those 3 dudes give us some real depth before we have to go ask Lightfoot to play the 5. Not a bash on Mitch who I love as a player, but he's just never going to be big enough to be truly effective as the biggest body on the floor. He does it all with heart and hustle.

Yes.....never forget Ochai and David......I’m hopeful they are our secret weapons.

Perhaps Q should have chummed up a bit more with David. I think I read someplace where David worked VERY hard to get himself to a good playing weight and in shape. I believe he struggled with too much weight. LOVE HIM!

Want to and Hudy are probably unbeatable combinations!! The want to is the tough part.

I think it might be that he just really, really, really, really wants to be a point guard and not an off guard, and with Dotson locked down in that spot (and doing spectacularly) he bailed out.

Kind of a "go all in" and "swing for the fences" move IMHO rather than a rational decision.

My sources told me that, according Self
“Grimes will not be back.”
This was a statement that essentially said, that he was not welcomed back.
Those that were at the games last year and looked at body language, figured there was a disfunctionality about the team. It appears that two players were a part of that, Vick and Grimes.

Referring to Mitch, "He does it all with heart and hustle." If the entire team played that way last season we could have been a contender!!!

Thanks, Hoshi - Grimes not being welcomed back does make sense of the otherwise perplexing decision.

Hoshi, your input makes total sense to me. I think Vick was a total head case in that he was not particularly a team guy and was way more focused on playing hero ball for selfish purposes. Plus, it seemed that Vick was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Grimes seemed to be a head case for different reasons. Grimes did seem to be reasonably bright. Grimes had a bit of a JR Giddens prima Donna complex and had a childish desire to be “the guy”. When it was clear that he was not only not “the guy” but he was not even one of the top 3 or 4 guys, I think he really struggled with that. I never noticed a particularly bad attitude so much as an inner childish complex of exaggerated stature. His player ratings were dismal and he had very low plus minus as well which tends to indicate poor team play. I have zero axe to grind with Grimes but I cant say his leaving is anything other than ho-hum for me.