Kansas Basketball: Four Jayhawks who need to step up in March Madness

Quentin Grimes

Freshman guard and former McDonalds All-American athlete Quentin Grimes certainly has the skill set to change the outcome of any game this month.

Grimes struggled to mesh into Self’s quick, dynamic system in the beginning of this season as he would find himself catching, jab-stepping, and hesitating. However, as assistant coaches Kurtis Townsend and Jerrance Howard also took notice of, his court awareness and decision-making has begun to come full circle just in time for the tournament.

"“It was like a puzzle piece that didn’t fit,” Townsend said to the Sacramento Bee. “But now he’s figuring out how to play like he plays in our system, and it’s really helped him.”"

His numbers have been up and down over the course of the season, but toward the end of the season have begun to trend upward at a more consistent rate. In five of the last seven games, Grimes has scored double figures, and he averaged almost 50 percent from the field in those five games.

On the flip side, in the other two of those seven games, Grimes made just 18 percent of field goals. Efficient shooting is necessary for the Jayhawks to succeed this postseason, so Grimes will have to shake off any inconsistency.