Former Kentucky target Quentin Grimes to transfer from Kansas

Wednesday was the final opportunity for college basketball players to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft and retain their collegiate eligibility.

The two biggest decisions for the Kentucky Wildcats today were EJ Montgomery deciding to stay at Kentucky and Kerry Blackshear deciding to stay in college. One of the most intriguing decisions nationally, however, came when Kansas Jayhawks guard Quentin Grimes withdrew from the draft only to enter the transfer portal.

“We’ve all enjoyed coaching Quentin this past year and certainly appreciate his efforts,” Kansas coach Bill Self said when announcing Grimes’ decision. “We initially anticipated him staying in the draft but he and his family decided to return to college but not return to Kansas.”

Grimes was a huge Kentucky target for the 2018 class, although he signed with the Jayhawks during the early signing period. Grimes originally chose Kansas over Kentucky, Marquette, and Texas. He was the overall No. 10 player in the class based on 247 Sports composite rankings.

Barring some extraordinary circumstances, Grimes will have to sit for a year before being eligible to play college basketball again. While it seems doubtful that the Wildcats could be a potential landing spot, they currently has no 2020 commits, and Grimes would be an excellent player to start off the new group for that season.

Regardless of who he chooses, this is a big blow to Kansas. At some point, it seemed they may be able to keep Grimes and Devon Dotson and potentially sign RJ Hampton. Now they return only Dotson from the starting backcourt, and their only backcourt signee at this point is three-star combo guard Isaac McBride. They also currently have no top-50 recruits committed.

That is quite the unfortunate turnaround.

Stay tuned to A Sea of Blue for updates on Grimes’ transfer destination, especially if John Calipari gets involved.