NBA Draft: Grimes First College Park Alumnus Selected Into League

THE WOODLANDS, TX — Quentin Grimes made College Park High School history Thursday night.

The former Class 6A Player of the Year and third-team All-American at the University of Houston was selected with the 25th overall pick of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers and subsequently traded to the New York Knicks. Grimes is the first player in the Cavaliers’ history to be taken in the NBA Draft.

In return for Grimes and a second-round pick, the Clippers received the draft rights to No. 21 overall pick Keon Johnson.

Grimes, who spent his sophomore and junior seasons at the University of Houston, was widely considered a second-round prospect early in the draft process, but a strong showing at the NBA Combine put him on the radar of several teams as a potential first-rounder.

“I don’t think anybody at the NBA Combine helped themselves more than Quentin Grimes,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said during the network’s draft coverage. “That’s what made him into a first-round pick.”

Bilas praised Grimes’ ability to overcome adversity after the former five-star recruit transferred after his freshman season at the University of Kansas. Bilas added he was impressed by Grimes’ defense and 3-point shooting and that, while he lacked elite athleticism, “he can play.”

Grimes is coming off a banner year as a junior at Houston. He was the first player in the program since 1999 to earn All-America honors and the first since 1984 to be selected to three All-America teams, earning third-team designation from the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, US Basketball Writers Association and Sporting News.

He averaged 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while claiming American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player while leading the Cougars to a conference title. He was eighth nationally in 3-pointers made per game with 3.3, shooting 40.3 percent from behind the arc.

Grimes helped the Cougars win the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and reach the program’s first Final Four since the Phi Slama Jama team led by Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler got there in 1984. Houston fell to eventual champion Baylor in the national semifinals.

Grimes was a five-star prospect out of College Park, which he helped lead to a District 12-6A championship and the area round of the playoffs in 2018. He averaged 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game and earned a slew of postseason awards. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year, Texas Mr. Basketball and Class 6A Player of the Year.

Grimes was the eighth-ranked prospect in the country by Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American game, where he scored 14 points with six assists. He also played for the Team USA U18 team, which he led to a gold medal in the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 World Championships. He averaged 14.7 points, 4 rebounds and 3.8 assists and was named MVP of the tournament.